Soldiers train to fight Y2K terrorism

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

Soldiers train to fight Y2K terrorism

Selected military units preparing for 'use of force' on New Year's Day

David Pugliese

The Ottawa Citizen

The Canadian military will begin training some units in the coming months in case they need to use force in dealing with millennium bug problems, or to handle terrorist attacks by groups wanting to take advantage of the year 2000.

In the fall, the Canadian Forces will "train selected units in the use of force in domestic operations (and) practise (giving) armed and unarmed assistance" to law enforcement agencies, according to documents obtained by the Citizen. Units that provide protection at Canadian Forces bases across the country will also go through updated training to "conduct security operations in a year-2000 environment."

Although all Canadian Forces personnel are trained in the use of force in combat missions, operating with police agencies in Canada requires specialized training regarding when force can and cannot be used in a civilian setting.

One of the scenarios military commanders put down on paper was training in how to deal with a millennium-inspired terrorist attack. The training scenario involved terrorists targeting electric power systems and taking hostages in order to use the "psychologically powerful turn of the millennium to focus attention on their cause," according to documents released under the Access to Information Act.

In the scenario, two unnamed provinces request the use of the military's anti-terrorist unit to deal with the threat.

In Canada, government and military officials have expressed confidence that disruptions caused by the Y2K computer problem will be minor, similar to those caused by a major winter storm. They have suggested troops would be unarmed and provide emergency aid, such as was done in the ice storm two winters ago. Other documents said training scenarios involving aid to civil powers should not be included in the military's Y2K preparations.

Defence officials did not return phone calls about the training regime. A news release sent in response to questions listed one training scenario as to "assist law enforcement agencies with isolated incidents involving individual (or) groups trying to take advantage of the year 2000 transition for their own purposes or beliefs."

Providing aid to civil powers and police is one of the main jobs the Canadian Forces will have during the year 2000 transition, according to military officials.

In the U.S., preparations are already under way to deal with millennium unrest. In March, U.S. Marine Corps units started practising crowd and riot control techniques in case Y2K problems spark panic among the public. The scenario they practised involved workers, angry that millennium bug glitches prevented them from being paid, storming government buildings. The marines used tear-gas and riot gear to defend the buildings.

John Thompson, a defence analyst with the Mackenzie Institute in Toronto, said all Canadian Forces soldiers receive riot control training and other training needed if they are to help the civil powers. But that training must be continually improved upon so troops know exactly how and when to respond, he added.

It is no surprise the Canadian Forces would conduct such training, he added, but it is not keen on publicizing it. "The military never likes to talk about aid to civil power operations," said Mr. Thompson, whose think-tank examines terrorism and violence in society. "People don't like to be reminded that an army can be used in a domestic situation."

Both the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service have raised concerns that terrorist groups or cults may take advantage of any year 2000 problems to launch attacks. In the U.S., police agencies have similar worries, as well as the concern that ordinary criminals may take advantage of problems caused by the millennium bug.

Last month, a British Columbia man was charged after it was revealed he wanted to blow up energy supply systems in the U.S. and Canada and make it appear the incidents were related to the millennium bug. The motives behind the planned attacks were financial and not political, according to police.

What will happen at the turn of the millennium is still open to debate. Some computer specialists have said there will be minor disruptions in services similar to what would happen during a winter storm. Others have claimed the Y2K bug will cause massive disruptions in power, food distribution, water supplies and the economy, sparking panic among civilian populations.

Mr. Thompson said the main response to most law enforcement problems caused by the millennium computer bug would be the police, with the military being called out only in extreme situations. In the case of a terrorist attack, however, the military's Joint Task Force 2, based outside Ottawa, would move into action.

Other military units are also getting ready for the 2000. Under Operation Abacus, the military's plan to deal with the millennium bug, the Air Force will provide an air-dispatch service to carry messages across the country in the "rare event of a catastrophic collapse of the civil telecom infrastructure," according to the plans. The military has also set up portable satellite dishes for communications. The federal government has also recently bought hundreds of satellite phones in case there are disruptions in telephone and other communications systems.

Other scenarios used by the Canadian Forces in previous training involved partial power blackouts in pockets of urban areas affecting up to 60,000 people, emergency evacuations of remote communities, the derailment of a train resulting in a spill of hazardous materials, and a Y2K-related air crash.

Another scenario involved moving Canadians out of an unnamed African state where a violent rebel group decides to use the coming of the new millennium to renew a war against its government.

With just months to go, the Canadian Forces is to begin to minimize all activities not related to Operation Abacus. Until Nov. 15, units will ramp up to "concentrate gradually and deliberately on Op Abacus," according to the plan.

An earlier report by the year 2000 contingency planning group of Emergency Preparedness Canada suggested the federal government should consider invoking the Emergencies Act, the successor to the War Measures Act, if the millennium bug causes widespread chaos.

"In the worst case, we should consider the Emergencies Act a potential source of special powers," one memo stated.

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), September 05, 1999

Answers

link

You beat me to posting this by about two minutes, Gayla!

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), September 05, 1999.


Hi Rachel! Thanks for the link! :-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), September 05, 1999.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ