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Jan 1 Interview with Sen. Bennett
By David M. Bresnahan
© 1999 WorldNetDaily.com
SALT LAKE CITY -- Victory has been declared over the Y2K computer bug, but there is still
the possibility of trouble ahead, according to one of the nation's Y2K gurus.
"This is a victory for all of us who have worked on this," Sen. Robert Bennett,
R-Utah, told WorldNetDaily in an exclusive interview from within the Utah Y2K Emergency
Operations Center.
Bennett spent the past two years as co-chairman of the Senate Special Committee on the
Year 2000 Technology Problem. Although he was willing to declare victory, he was quick to
point out that the credit for defeating the bug should go to many others.
A year ago Bennett told WorldNetDaily he was trying to be more like Paul Revere than
'Chicken Little' regarding his warnings on the possible negative consequences if the
millennium bug were not fixed. He warned of possible power and phone outages,
transportation difficulties, banking problems and business failures.
While making those predictions, Bennett also said he wanted to wake people up in the hope
they would respond in time to resolve the problems and prevent any potential difficulties.
"We're not out of this yet, but it looks like we can claim victory," said a
smiling Bennett just after midnight Greenwich Mean Time. Aircraft, ships, and navigation
satellites use GMT as their base of reference.
"We really won't know how well we've done until the end of the business day on
Monday," explained Bennett. Much of the business world will turn computers on when
people go back to work after the holiday weekend. Companies could be hurt if computer
systems are not functioning.
"We may not know the problems fully for two or three weeks," he added.
Bennett was in Utah for the holidays, spending New Year's Eve in the Utah command center
with other government officials. But the center was in effect a media gathering place,
where many spent much of the night visiting the buffet table and socializing.
Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah
Bennett was using his own computer to retrieve reports provided to him via the Internet.
So little was happening, he took time to leave the center temporarily to watch his wife
and daughter perform in a New Year's Eve concert.
Bennett said he no longer expects a recession as he once suggested. In a recent meeting of
his committee, he was impressed with economic reports that suggested a flat economy during
the first quarter of 2000, and perhaps some optimistic growth if no major Y2K disruptions
occurred.
"The threat of terrorism remains very real. We are in an age when the next war will
be an electronic one," Bennett warned after a number of classified meetings with the
State Department. "The one thing I have learned from Y2K is that our infrastructure
is very vulnerable."
The senator is concerned with how easily a computer hacker or cyber terrorist could shut
down a power plant, airport, or even the banking system. Even though computer systems that
control the nation's infrastructure are at risk, he said early preparations have improved
the situation.
Bennett believes the surprise resignation by Russian President Boris Yeltsin is really the
biggest story for the start of 2000.
"There have been times when he just couldn't function, his health was so bad,"
said Bennett, who met Yeltsin on previous trips to Moscow. Bennett played a major role in
getting the former president to have a team of Russian military meet with the U.S.
military to avoid any accidental launch of nuclear missiles.
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