'Military on Year 2000 alert
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Hamre said the situation is so grim that the Pentagon is developing a program to share data from US early-warning satellites with other countries, including Russia and China. Otherwise, come 2000, such nations may find themselves in the dark, uncertain whether an attack is coming or not - which, in a crisis, could provoke great anxiety.
Blair, who has interviewed several Russian nuclear officers, said Russia faces particularly dire straits. Since its army has collapsed, it is relying far more on its nuclear weapons for security. And, because of shortages in manpower and money, its nuclear weapons are becoming increasingly vulnerable and its early-warning network more riddled with gaps.
''Y2K is just a piling-on of a whole nest of problems,'' Blair said.
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