Editing World War III (section)

=== NORAD computer error of 1979: 9 November 1979 ===
The United States made emergency retaliation preparations after [[North American Aerospace Defense Command|NORAD]] systems indicated that a full-scale Soviet attack had been launched.<ref>{{cite web |date=2012-11-20 |title=Norad false alarm causes uproar |url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/war-conflict/defence/norad-watching-the-skies/norad-false-alarm-causes-uproar.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108204905/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/war-conflict/defence/norad-watching-the-skies/norad-false-alarm-causes-uproar.html |archive-date=8 November 2014 |access-date=17 March 2015 |publisher=CBC Canada}}</ref> No attempt was made to use the [[Moscow–Washington hotline]] to clarify the situation with the USSR and it was not until early-warning radar systems confirmed no such launch had taken place that NORAD realized that a computer system test had caused the display errors. A senator inside the NORAD facility at the time described an atmosphere of absolute panic. A GAO investigation led to the construction of an off-site test facility to prevent similar mistakes.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Andrews|first1=Evan|title=5 Cold War Close Calls|url=http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/5-cold-war-close-calls|publisher=The History Channel|access-date=17 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231010823/http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/5-cold-war-close-calls|archive-date=31 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>