Thousands of nuclear warheads on hair-trigger alert are hooked up to computers with the same Y2K problem. Defense experts are concerned that command and control systems, including early warning systems, could fail. These failures could leave the U.S. and Russia unable to know what the other is doing, and could be misinterpreted as evidence of an enemy attack. The U.S. is spending billions of dollars to fix the Y2K bug in military computers. But the Pentagon is behind schedule in fixing the problems and no one can guarantee that systems are free at risk.
Russian systems are at even greater risk than the United States.
For two years, prominent military leaders such as General George Lee Butler, former commander of all U.S. strategic nuclear forces, have been urging the U.S. and Russia to take nuclear warheads off alert. President's Clinton and Yeltsin can decide on their own authority to take the nuclear missiles off alert. With the year 2000 rapidly approaching, concerned citizens in the U.S. and Russia are urging their leaders to take immediate action to avert a potentially catastrophic New Year. Ira Helfand, M.D., is an emergency room doctor in Northampton, Massachusetts, and a widelyrecognized expert on the medical and environmental consequences of a nuclear explosion. Dr. Helfand has worked for more than 20 years on wide range of activities to promote disarmament and prevent nuclear war.