PANIC IN THE YEAR ZERO

[mea culpa <jericho () DIMENSIONAL COM>]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_bresnahan/19991129_xex_clinton_set_.shtml

PANIC IN THE YEAR ZERO
Clinton set to declare national emergency More than 50 simultaneous
Y2K crises expected, stretching resources to limit
By David M. Bresnahan

President Clinton has already made plans to declare a national emergency
because of expected disruptions caused by the Y2K computer problem,
according to Federal Emergency Management Agency documents.

A final training session followed by a mock Y2K disaster exercise will
include the actual disruptions and problems that Y2K emergency planners
believe will take place during the change to the New Year.

Plans for the emergency declaration were made known to Federal Emergency
Management Agency officials and other federal employees in preparation for
use of the Information Coordination Center, set up by the President's
Council on the Year 2000 conversion. The plans were also given to the
Senate Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem.

The staff on hand at the Information Coordination Center have been told to
expect a presidential declaration of a national emergency. FEMA staff who
will run the regional emergency operation centers have also been told the
same thing.

"Should it become necessary, a presidential 'emergency,' rather than a
'major disaster,' will be declared, and assistance will be focused on
addressing threats to life, health, safety, and property," the Senate
committee was told in a report from Lacy E. Suiter from the Response and
Recovery Directorate of FEMA.

A national emergency will be declared because FEMA officials have
concluded that there will be more than 50 simultaneous Y2K-related
disruptions throughout the country, which will stretch the nation's local,
state and national emergency resources to the limit.

The Department of Defense is so concerned that the deputy secretary of
defense, John J. Hamre, has issued a memorandum to commanders in the field
to be very cautious about using the military to assist civil agencies.
Hamre said local requests for help might seem appropriate, but he warned
local commanders to be cautious about using the military to help with Y2K
disruptions.

"Immediate responses that appear rational from a local perspective, but
could collectively undermine the department's ability to execute
operational missions" should be ruled out, said Hamre.

Hamre has ordered commanders to avoid using the military for Y2K problems
unless there is a threat to life or damage to property. The warning
applies to domestic as well as international requests for help.

The anticipation of a multitude of simultaneous problems that would
stretch the ability of the government to respond is the driving force
behind the plans for declaration of a national emergency.

Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, told WorldNetDaily there is a very real fear
that the enemies of the United States could conduct domestic terrorist
attacks because they will expect the country to be weakened due to the
military's having to deal with Y2K disruptions. He said there is also a
possibility that cyber-terrorism attacks might even try to sabotage
computers to create what appear to be Y2K computer failures, in order to
enhance opportunities for terrorists to conduct further attacks on U.S.
cities.

Suiter says many small, localized disruptions are expected to occur.
Response should come from local and state agencies "to the maximum extent
possible," he said. FEMA has been conducting training for local police and
fire officials in an effort to help them be better prepared for Y2K
emergencies and reduce the need for federal assistance.

FEMA officials who attended training in each of the 10 FEMA regions were
told a major disaster declaration was ruled out because the Y2K problems
will not "involve a natural disaster," according to the presentation
materials used and provided to WorldNetDaily.

"A presidential 'emergency' rather than 'major disaster' declaration will
be made if Y2K consequences exceed state/local response resources," FEMA
staff and other federal agencies were told at the regional meetings.

Peter Kind of the Information Coordination Center sent a memorandum to
staff members to guide them in preparations for final training exercises
Dec. 6 to 9. He wants the exercises to be as real as possible, and asked
for recommendations on what Y2K problems are actually expected.

Although Suiter claims "no one knows for sure what will happen following
rollover to January 1," those who will staff the Information Coordination
Center have been asked by Kind to submit a list of the most likely Y2K
disruptions for use in the final Y2K disaster training and exercise.  "We
want to exercise the rollover sequence with special emphasis on what could
happen when, as midnight and subsequent critical periods such as business
hours, opening of financial markets, etc., follow the timeline westward.
We invite you to help identify the high probability and high-risk items
that might occur, by time zone, both for use in the exercise and to help
prepare us all," requested Kind.

Past exercises conducted by FEMA and other emergency organizations have
always stressed that they do not know what problems to expect when the New
Year begins.

"In order to make the December exercise as realistic as possible, we ask
that you provide your ICC core staff contact with your best estimates of
possible incidents, anomalies or other systems operation events most
likely to be seen during the Millennium Rollover (sic).  Receipt of this
type information by November 24 will ensure that it will be incorporated
into the exercise scenarios when and where appropriate," said the
instructions to ICC staff.

"We are hoping for the best, but taking necessary and prudent steps to
prepare for any contingencies," said Suiter.

Although emergency planners may be planning for the worst, their Y2K
preparation materials provided to the public do not suggest that the
general public take the same precautions. He said hackers will be easily
detected during the Y2K rollover period because there will be tighter
security at that time. Koskinen asked "recreational hackers" to stay away
during the date change rather than complicate what is anticipated to be a
difficult time for government agencies. "This is not the best time to do
that," Koskinen said.

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