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Wednesday - 20:54 12/15/99, EST

U.S. Girds for Feared Y2K Violence

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - U.S. officials are preparing for the possibility that the much-heralded Year 2000 computer bogy may turn out to be the least of their problems on New Year's weekend overshadowed by political, cult or racial violence. As officials grow more confident that U.S. infrastructure will emerge relatively glitch-free, they appear increasingly concerned about those who might try to wind up the century with a kind of bloody exclamation point.

The chairman of a Senate panel that studied the Year 2000 technology challenge, Robert Bennett, said the United States and its allies should be on guard for both physical and computer-generated attacks timed to coincide with the new year.

``We think there may be terrorist groups planning to ride in on the Y2K wave,'' the Utah Republican, who receives intelligence briefings, told Reuters. ``There is the potential for these groups to commit acts that may be mistakenly attributed to Y2K.''

Apart from any risk from overseas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned local police of the danger of violence by cults seeking to spark an apocalyptic battle and by those fearing a supposed conspiracy to impose world government.

``In the final analysis, while making specific predictions is extremely difficult, acts of violence in commemoration of the millennium are just as likely to occur as not,'' the FBI said in a ``strategic assessment'' last month.

Last week the State Department said it had ``credible information'' that guerrillas were planning attacks on U.S. citizens including at festivities to usher in the 21st century.

``The information indicates that attacks could be planned for locations throughout the world where large gatherings and celebrations will be taking place,'' said the advisory the fifth ``worldwide caution'' of its type since Aug. 4.

The Pentagon said on Tuesday U.S. forces were taking ``a number of appropriate actions'' to defend themselves against the threat cited by the State Department.

They will be ``very well-postured in every conceivable way to deal with any threats that occur around the change of the year,'' Defense Department spokesman Kenneth Bacon told reporters.

``We have a lot of intelligence focusing on events that could occur around the turn of the year, and I think commanders are very determined to be aggressive in force protection,'' he said.

The United States has told the ruling Taliban militia of Afghanistan that it would hold them responsible for any anti-U.S. attacks by followers of Saudi exile Osama bin Laden.

It served notice on the Taliban on Monday after the arrest in Jordan of 13 people, including alleged bin Laden followers, on suspicion of planning guerrilla attacks. A U.S. official said on Wednesday that suspected guerrilla plotters had been arrested elsewhere in the Middle East as well.

Bin Laden, who lives under Taliban protection, has been indicted by a New York grand jury in the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 220 people.

Susan Lloyd of the FBI's Washington field office which set up a special counterterrorist unit on Sept. 15 said she had no ``hard intelligence'' of any attack planned in Washington.

But she added: ``We'll have people on standby in various locations around the city in order to better respond if there is a terrorist incident'' during the big New Year's Eve bash that President Clinton is to address on the national mall.

Although mainly devoted to domestic threats, the FBI study said Israeli officials were extremely concerned about possible violence in Jerusalem, a holy city for Christians, Muslims and Jews.

White House officials have set up an ``information coordination center'' to track Y2K events, including any violence that might prompt a federal response.

``The unique thing about Y2K is we're going to have things going on internationally and domestically possibly at the same time, and we will have more of them going on than normal,'' Clinton's Y2K aide, John Koskinen, said Monday.

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-- snodgrass (snodgr@ss.com), December 15, 1999

Answers

Relax. Thats why we have law inforcement. If your not planning to commit any criminal acts, you have nothing to worry about.

-- for real (for@real.com), December 15, 1999.

I'm not sure how you folks feel about this kind of thought, personally, it almost seems like their spin now seems to indicate they have found a target, sure hope I don't get caught in the crossfire. Lots of luck to all of us!!

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), December 15, 1999.

for real: I bet the peaceful protestors in Seattle thought the same thing. I don't think it works that way, tho.

-- (formerly@nowhere.zzz), December 15, 1999.

I believe the word is paranoia is there a doctor in the house?

-- Susan Barrett (sue59@bellsouth.net), December 15, 1999.

Snodgrass, a personal question, were you stationed at the Groton, CT submarine base in 1996? Let me know, OK?

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), December 15, 1999.

Darn, my fingers, I meant 1976?

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), December 15, 1999.

"supposed conspiracy to implement one world government." Holy crap, Bill Clinton stood up on nationwide television just three days ago and explained how the new one world government was a good thing. And we wouldn't lose our national sovereignity for some time yet. Supposed my ass, this is official government policy and they openly admit it.

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), December 15, 1999.

If it was your business being looted, I'm sure you would have appreciated the police in Seattle. It is strange that you seem to believe it is a constitutional right to riot. Let me ask you, was that your same opinion during the LA riots?

-- for real (for@real.com), December 15, 1999.

After listening to some of the crazy, paranoid, racist stuff on shortwave radio, I was shocked to learn that the FBI might not be exaggerating about some of these nuts and their violent plans. Of course, I am not referring to law-abiding citizens who own guns--or those who are in militias--or even those who have a paranoid streak and believe in those "NWO/UN" urban legends. I'm talking about people who believe that Blacks and Jewish people are the "Children of Satan" and need to be killed.

Folks, I know it's hard to believe, but there are some truly demented, sick, evil people out there who have nothing but hate in their hearts for anything but their own inbred, bigoted kind. A tiny fraction of these have grandiose plans about starting a "race war" or a guerilla action against the federal govt.

As Dave Barry says, I'm not making this up. I've heard this phlegm wheezing from my very own radio. Of course I believe these freaks have a right to express their own twisted opinions in any way they desire, but what is being said now borders on inciting violence.

While these freaks bother me, I am equally concerned about any exaggerated overreaction to them by the Feds which will entail the continued suspension of the liberty of law-abiding citizens. I am concerned about those in the crossfire, trying to mind their own business like the kids who got their teeth shot out and were gassed in Seattle. It's a complicated mess, folks.

My humble advice is to lay low and quietly go about your normal business.

-- coprolith (coprolith@fakemail.com), December 15, 1999.

"those "NWO/UN" urban legends..."

Boy! do you need to do some research...

-- pops (poppy@poppin.fresh), December 16, 1999.

1) There seems to be violence somewhere every new year's eve...

2) They are looking at about a 50-50 chance.

3) Keeping your head down is a VERY good idea!

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), December 16, 1999.

Seems to me that 1999 has been a fairly quiet year on the bombings and terrorism side of things. I mean comparing it to other years. Now let me see... hmm... you don't suppose the bad guys decided that it would be more impressive to save their bang toys for the end of the year do you? I mean it's only the four digit rollover.

How about thinking on this a minute. Those FBI/Treasury/ATF people are for the most part just regular people. They aren't conspiring against the citizens with their leaders. They are going to work in the morning and coming home in the evening. They are worried about the same things you worry about. Some of them are religious some of them arent. They are JUST people... just like the rest of us.

The people making these press releases are just people... duh... just people, not conspirators, not minions of the NWO, just people. Anyone not realizing that the roll over is a PRIME opportunity to exploit... needs to think on what sort of mind one must have to be a terrorist in the first place. Terrorists BELIEVE in a cause. They are ZEALOTS and consider themselves SOLDIERS not terrorists. They time their actions to get maximum coverage or to do maximum damage. The rollover is not really the best time to get maximum coverage (unless you have figured out that the government will want someone to blame) but it is for sure the best time to do maximum damage.

When we studied bayonet (many years ago) we were taught to butt-stroke the enemy to the ground AND THEN bayonet them. In other words HIT THEM WHILE THEY ARE DOWN... duh.

-- (...@.......), December 16, 1999.

I've heard those racist loons on the shortwave, too. I usually have to turn it off. I like folks like Alex Jones. He does tend to get too excited, but comes off as a decent guy. The New World Order is real. I've done enough research to be convinced that there is an orchestrated plot (some of it out in the open) to build a one world government.

I'm not opposed to a world government, per se. But as a libertarian, such a government would have to be so limited in power that it would almost be irrelevant. I would not accept any supersovereign organization micromanaging the affairs of a country.

I would like to see an international defense force developed to protect against space-based threats, like comets and asteroids. I would also agree that war would be impossible in a global union, not because nations would be disarmed, but because under a capitalist laissez-faire system, no one in their right mind would want to kill anyone. That would be eradicating a customer base. You can't do business with dead bodies.

Since most governments are communist or socialist or theocratic, I can't foresee any global government being successful any time in the 21st century.

-- Tim the Y2K nut (tmiley@yakko.cs.wmich.edu), December 16, 1999.