http://www.y2ktoday.com/modules/home/default.asp?feature=true&id=1485

y2ktoday Exclusive: This is Not a Vacuum by Sen. Robert Bennett 5/20/99 Author: Sen. Robert Bennett

Unfortunately, we do not live in a vacuum. The U.S. is part of an increasingly interdependent world, especially on the economic front. The level of compliance around the world is spotty. If we are setting the standard for Y2K remediation, then we can only assume that other nations may not fare as well when Y2K hits.

Thats not true across the board. In fact, Tony Blair of Great Britain has, at an Executive Branch, been forthright and proactive on this issue; would that we had that kind of visibility and leadership from President Clinton. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are coming along. The Netherlands has a Y2K czar, and Sweden, Singapore, and Hong Kong appear to be in good shape.

Then there are the countries that are not-quite-there, and some of them are surprises. Germany, Italy, and France are industrial and technological powers who, unfortunately, have been so preoccupied with the Euro that their Y2K programs have gotten off to excruciatingly slow starts. The London Times reported that the Italians are still waiting to get a #2 million budget approved by the Parliament, and that their Y2K council  like ours in the States, actually  has no regulatory power to force action. "Italy is going to crash, and we are going to be crucified," Romano Oneda, a member of Italy's Year 2000 Committee, said. "We have only consultative powers, and no one is listening to us."

All the signs in Russia are red. John Koskinen, our Y2K czar, has said that he is concerned about Y2K vulnerabilities at Russian nuclear power plants. We sent a group of consultants to Russia to help them sort out their problems; they came back saying that major disruptions are inevitable. We had been working with the Russians in the defense area, in order to avoid misunderstandings that might arise due to Y2K communications and monitoring glitches. Unfortunately, that cooperation was suspended in response to the NATO action in the former Yugoslavia.

The events in Kosovo notwithstanding, we cannot dictate to other sovereign countries how they conduct their affairs. All we can do is make them aware of the potential ramifications of Y2K disruptions. The U.S. Department of Commerce recently published a report, "Y2k and the Global Trading System," that accurately summarizes the threat: "All nations are tied into a system of global economic interdependence as part of the world trading system. Trade, which now represents over one-fifth of global output, is crucial to the economic development and growth of all national economiesY2K failures in electronic systems and devices have the potential to cause supply and service disruptions."

The creation of the International Y2K Cooperation Center is a good start towards mitigating these potential problems. Under the leadership of Bruce McConnell, the IY2KCC will help countires, industries, and economic sectors coordinate their efforts. We needed something like this a long time ago, but better late than never.

There are just over 220 days to go before Y2K hits. We need more outreach and cooperation on the part of all nations to ensure that, whatever disruptions, Y2K may bring, we are prepared to minimize their effects. As President Clinton said in his State of the Union address, we are all hoping that Y2K goes down in history as "the last headache of the 20th century, not the first crisis of the 21st." For that to happen, we must see that the United States does not grow complacent. The failures or successes of Y2K projects abroad will most surely affect the extent of the Y2K event here in our own country.

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), May 21, 1999

Answers

top

-- top (top@top.top), May 21, 1999.

While I appreciate Sen. Bennett's efforts and think the article is well-written, it makes a flawed assumption which is prevalent amongst the PTB: the US is in good shape. This is simply not true, based on the best evidence available. We may not have massive power or telecomm outages that other countries are likely to have, but we are hardly immune to problems on a large scale. Avoiding the "worst-case scenarios" does not translate to a "bump in the road".

-- regular (zzz@z.z), May 21, 1999.

The combination of this article (especially the part of accusing Clinton of lack of leadership) and Sunday's 60 Minutes pieces, and Tuesday's Senate testimony on contingency planning, and perhaps resolution of the Y2K legislation, make me hopeful that there will be a spurt of media attention next week on the need to prepare.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), May 21, 1999.

rah!rah!rah!the worlds doing nothing!rah!rah!rah!

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), May 21, 1999.

I think that Bennett's goal is to make the picture abroad look so gruesome that many more people will put 2+2 together. He seems to trying to spread the real message, just a little obtusely.

Dave

-- Dave (aaa@aaa.com), May 21, 1999.

Dave. Ya married? I like your vocabulary.

-- hmmmmm? (justwondering@this.time), May 21, 1999.