The World - News from Dec. 30, 1986

Soviet commandos posing as tourists or seamen regularly infiltrate Britain on training missions to practice ways to paralyze the nation before a war, according to Col. Michael Hickey, a former member of the British Defense Ministry’s general staff. In a study for the Institute for European Defense and Strategic Studies, he said that Britain is the most vulnerable target in the Atlantic Alliance for penetration by the spetsnaz (special purpose) commandos because it lacks a proper home defense force. Hickey said the commandos would be “inserted into Britain in a crisis” and could sabotage communication, transport and power systems.