U.S., Russia Sign Deal On Joint Y2K Missile Center

Updated 11:47 AM ET September 13, 1999

(Reuters) - The United States and Russia signed an agreement Monday for their military officers jointly to staff a center in Colorado to watch for any false warnings of missile attacks sparked by year-2000 computer bugs.

Defense Secretary William Cohen, on a two-day visit to Russia, signed the deal with Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev to set up the temporary center for the dawn of the new year.

Cohen said in a statement that the center at U.S. Space Command headquarters at Colorado Springs "will reduce the chance that a turn-of-the-millennium computer error will create an end-of-the-year security incident."

"The agreement that we just signed will allow our militaries to do something that was impossible to imagine just a decade ago -- sit together and monitor sensitive early warning data about possible missile launches," he said.

The statement quoted Sergeyev as saying the so-called "Center for Strategic Stability and Y2K" was a key step forward in cooperation between the two countries.

Both defense leaders said they looked forward to establishing a permanent joint center at a later date in Moscow to monitor early warning data from both sides.

A senior Pentagon official told reporters last week that up to 20 Russian officers would be assigned to the Colorado center.

The confidence-building operation will use U.S. early-warning satellites and advanced computers, and could reassure Moscow if Y2K computer problems in Russia mistakenly signaled a missile launch somewhere in the world.

Both Russia and the United States have thousands of long-range nuclear missiles and officials on both sides are anxious to avoid an unlikely but potentially disastrous mistake.

The center will watch out for any indications of possible missile launches by or against either of the two countries.

Year 2000 fears are based on concerns that the once-standard practice in computer programs of using the last two digits to represent the year in dates would see many computers unable to interpret the "00" in 2000 and crash as a result.

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Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), September 13, 1999

Answers

Thanks for the update, Ray.

Sincerely, Stan Faryna

-- Stan Faryna (info@giglobal.com), September 13, 1999.

WHEW!! what a relief!! Even those evil Russians wouldn't DARE sacrafice 20 of their own men to slow a retaliatory strike....

Captain Johnson to Colonel Ludikoff, " What the Hell is that?!! Your country has just launched 1000 missiles !!!!!!!"

Colonel Ludikoff, "I see nothing" Slowly pulling his Makarov from its holster.

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), September 13, 1999.

Meanwhile with prez. 'coward' Clinton the U.S. absorbs a first strike with no retaliation.

-- Johnny (JLJTM@BELLSOUTH.NET), September 13, 1999.

First the general feeling on this forum is that the command center really needs to happen, people got upset when Russia was all ticked off Yugoslavia. So now that the agreement has been signed you all say it means nothing.

I have never seen a group of people more pleased to wallow in their own self pity and woes than this group.

*walks off shaking his head*

-- Like I Would (Tell@You.com), September 14, 1999.

Like I Would--I don't know who you are and really don't care, but you have NEVER read one single sentence from me advocating such a useless and inherently dangerous concept as a joint command center.

As Johny pointed out the United States now operates under a policy of no retaliatory strike until after confirmation of actual nuclear detonations on American soil And Presidential authorization. Under this policy we are guaranteed to lose most of that retaliatory capability in the event of a massive first strike against us. If indeed the Russians did launch the only role this center and the Russian personell would play is to persuade the President that is was all a big mistake or computer malfuntion in an attempt to slow a retaliatory strike until it is too late to respond.

From the Russian side , how can they even believe what they are watching on those monitors? They are thousands of miles from home in a hostile nation, with absolutely no way to monitor the fiber optic and satellite feeds coming into the center. For all they know at any second the feed could be looped to show no activity while every missile we have is airborne, and the incoming phone lines shut down.

Now since we have absolutely nothing to gain, and a lot to lose by depending on this system as a fail safe, and the Russians will totally disreguard any input as being possibly manipulated, what is the point of even having it? I'll tell you what the point is. It is a pacifier for a bunch of brain dead Americans who don't have either the intelligence or the incentive to think through the preposterous bullshit being shovelled on us by the Government.

Now if you want a counter proposal for a workable failsafe system I'll give you one. You simply station two or three of your officers at each missile site with a dedicated communications link to your own missile silos. Cut the Presidents completely out of this loop. At the first sign the silo doors are opening they communicate the information to their own forces who open their own silo doors. Or how about if all the launch personell are strapped into their chairs at the beginning of each shift with a thermite grenade firmly atached to their family jewels which is hardwired to the launch key? Let them savor the aroma of Roasting weenie for thirty minutes or so if they hit the button. How about a suitcase nuke handcuffed to the President of each country at all times with every household in his respective nation having a detonator control? That's what I call accountability!!

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), September 14, 1999.

Excellent reply, Nikoli. The joint "command center" is a red herring designed to make everyone feel good. It will have NO impact on whether Russia decides to launch a first strike against the USA.

-- Nabi (nabi7@yahoo.com), September 14, 1999.

Nik, ROTFLOL

As CSN&Y sang, "It makes me wonder, what's going on" in Wooden Ships.

The biggest dupe is thinking that these 20 Russians will ever show up or that any of this will happen. If everyone is looking to a joint venture on New Year's Eve.....they're looking right past Nov-Dec. now aren't they?

-- BB (peace2u@bellatlantic.net), September 14, 1999.