Very interesting article posted to CNET today:

http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,21806,00.html?st.ne.ni.lh

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.nospam.com), May 05, 1998

Answers

Let's try to make this as a hyperlink:

CIA on Y2K

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.nospam.com), May 05, 1998.

I find it very curious that "someone" named Sherry Burns spoke so candidly about CIA Y2K perceptions.

**How can this be checked out for its veracity?** (When is the last time the CIA was forthcoming about ANYTHING?)

Why would they want to say this in public?

-- Greg Benesch (gbenesch@earthlink.net), May 06, 1998.

Greg Benesch (gbenesch@earthlink.net): <>

No idea. It was on CNN too.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.nospam.com), May 06, 1998.

Argh. Let's turn off italics.

Man, I hate HTML...

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.nospam.com), May 06, 1998.

I would like to think that the govt. is starting to "Break the News" Since CIA deals with things outside the US, It seems logical for them to make these statements about foriegn govts. That way, we, the masses in the US. Or as Clinton refers to us, "Joe six pack" can become aquainted with the issues and still feel smug that "It can't happen here". When it does, the govt. can tell us that it was those dirty foriegn computers that infected our good clean American computers. Once again "Slick Willie" and his gang will skate.

-- Bill Solorzano (notaclue@webtv.net), May 07, 1998.

It may or may not be that the CIA announcement was intended as the start of a government-wide public education program on Y2K, but rest assured that such a program is slowly coming. We certainly need it. A World Bank survey some months ago found that only 37 nations out of 128 even know about Y2K, and that of the 37 "informed" nations only six have a "national awareness" program in place. We ain't one of the six. (The six, as I recall, are the UK, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, and Belgium. Incidentally, the UK, Canada, and Australia are only a few months behind us on Y2K remediation work and all three have already started emergency contingency planning for possible national emergencies come 2000; the Aussies, in fact, have alerted all Civil Defense agencies to prepare emergency plans in case there's widespread disruption of basic services.)

In a July 1996 letter, Sen. Moynihan urged Clinton to appoint someone to take control of the govt.'s Y2K project. (In this same letter, citing a five-month Congressional Research Service study of Y2K, Moynihan concluded that the "worst fears of the doomsayers" are indeed substantiated.) Clinton did not do so until almost 19 months late, in February of this year. And the appointed Y2K "Czar," John Koskinen, did not convene his first Y2K council meeting until about a month after that. Little wonder that the GAO recently said that this council is not getting sufficient info (re both timeliness and accuracy) on Y2K! But at least Mr. Koskinen is slowly coming to realize the need for public education on Y2K. A few days ago he noted that a high-wire "balancing" act was needed: it would be necessary to educate and "energize" the American public without creating panic.

It will be interesting to see the way Mr. Koskinen goes about that task.

-- Don Florence (dflorence@zianet.com), May 07, 1998.