Launched from a barge off the U.S. coast, an EMP attack consisting of one nuclear warhead attached to a single missile might shut down much of the country and kill all except 30 million Americans.[2] Such an attack has been described as “a ‘giant continental time machine’ that would move us back more than a century in technology to the late 1800s”—and effectively destroy our great nation.[3] Yet, President Obama seems oblivious to this fact, and is doing nothing to protect us from perhaps the greatest threat faced by the United States.[4][5]
Reporting to Congress, an EMP commission concluded that little in the private sector is hardened to withstand such an attack, and the American military has only limited protection. According to a Wall Street Journal editorial, “China and Russia have the capability to launch an EMP weapon—and have let us know it.”[6] However, imagine if such a weapon falls into the hands of al-Qaeda or other terrorists who are willing to commit suicide to destroy America. What has really scared the commission members is a relatively unsophisticated EMP weapon in the hands of these terrorists. As frightening as such a possibility seems, it is very real and likely unless we take action now.
According to the Journal’s editorial, “Mother of All Blackouts,” an EMP or “Electromagnetic Pulse” attack occurs “when an enemy sets off a nuclear explosion high in the Earth’s atmosphere. The electromagnetic pulse generated by the blast destroys the electronics and satellites in its field of vision. For a detonation above the Midwest, that could mean the entire continental U.S.”[7] The editorial continues:
No American would necessarily die in the initial attack, but what comes next is potentially catastrophic. The pulse would wipe out most electronics and telecommunications, including the power grid. Millions could die for want of modern medical care or even of starvation since farmers wouldn’t be able to harvest crops and distributors wouldn’t be able to get food to supermarkets.
The editorial adds: “[I]magine a blackout that lasts for months, or years.” Also, “[a]fter an EMP assault, the nation would be highly vulnerable to secondary attack by conventional forces or a biological weapon.”[8]
Frightening beyond belief, to say the least. But it gets worse. The “Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack” (or the EMP Commission)[9], which was created in 2000 to examine the possibility of an EMP attack and its aftermath, delivered its reports to Congress in 2004 and thereafter. Yet, they have been languishing while the Democrats seek to push through ObamaCare, which a majority of Americans oppose—and which would be rendered moot by an EMP attack because there would not be any health care in the U.S., as all medical facilities close.
The difference between a conventional nuclear attack—such as the World War II atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, at the end of the war in the Pacific with Japan—and an EMP attack is that the former destroys cities primarily; whereas, an EMP attack potentially destroys our country as a whole and kills most Americans. Also, such a calamity might be accomplished by our enemies with a single warhead that is launched from the Gulf of Mexico, the Sea of Cortez, or off our Atlantic or Pacific Coasts. In fact, one wonders why any sophisticated enemy of the United States would contemplate an attack other than with an EMP weapon.
As the Wall Street Journal’s editorial stated:
The Commission offers a series of recommendations for reducing U.S. vulnerability. It calls for better intelligence, particularly in coastal waters. Also needed are “vigorous interdiction and interception efforts” such as missile defense. Critical components of civilian infrastructure—especially the electrical power grid—need to be EMP-hardened. Most new units can be hardened for 1% to 3% of cost if done at the time of design and manufacture. Hardening existing systems can cost 10 times as much.[10]
Tragically, President Obama and the Democrats have been cutting back on our military precisely when it has been performing magnificently and its continued strength is needed most. For example, they have been paring down our missile defenses, which are critical to protecting us against an EMP attack from which we might not recover.[11]
© 2010, Timothy D. Naegele
[1] Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass), the first black senator since Reconstruction after the U.S. Civil War. He practices law in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles with his firm, Timothy D. Naegele & Associates (www.naegele.com). He has an undergraduate degree in economics from UCLA, as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University. He is a member of the District of Columbia and California bars. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal. Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years. See, e.g., www.naegele.com/whats_new.html#articles
[2] See, e.g., http://newsmax.com/Newsfront/gringrich-emp-weapon/2009/03/29/id/329110 (“Some studies estimate that 90 percent of all Americans might very well die in the year after such an attack as our transportation, food distribution, communications, public safety, law enforcement, and medical infrastructures collapse”), http://www.heritage.org/Research/BallisticMissileDefense/wm2512.cfm
[3] See http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109226576685389289,00.html; see also http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121564702233840875.html?mod=d and http://newsmax.com/Newsfront/gringrich-emp-weapon/2009/03/29/id/329110 and http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703363704574503432517397934.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLEForthNews and http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/iran_nuclear_plan/2008/07/29/117217.html
[4] Before and after the presidential election of 2008, I was in touch with someone who has been and remains very close to Barack Obama and at least two of his principal advisers—one of whom is at the president’s side constantly in the White House. I warned the person repeatedly about the risk of an EMP attack that might destroy the U.S. and kill all except for about 30 million Americans. For example, in July 2008, I described such a possibility as follows:
Aside from threats from China and Russia, the use of such an attack by terrorists could be devastating to this country. Clearly, measures must be taken now to “harden” the U.S. against such attacks, and to prevent them in the first place. Having worked in military intelligence at the Pentagon, my guess is that an EMP attack may be high on the list of options for terrorists, because the impact of such an attack might make 9/11 seem like a walk in the park.
In late October 2009, I went on to discuss “an EMP attack by (1) al-Qaeda, (2) Iran and its proxies, (3) North Korea, (4) Russia and its surrogates, and/or (5) China and its surrogates,” and I concluded:
Everything else (e.g., ObamaCare, the economy, Afghanistan) pales beside it. Indeed, it might determine the future of our kids and their kids. Again, . . . hopefully you can use your influence to address this issue now.
To the best of my knowledge, nothing has been done by this person or the president to deal with this issue of critical importance to the welfare and survivability of the American people.
[5] See http://newsmax.com/Newsfront/gringrich-emp-weapon/2009/03/29/id/329110 (“Funding for EMP defense must be a top national priority. To downgrade or halt our missile defense program, which at last is becoming viable after 25 years of research, would be an action of criminal negligence”—and potentially grounds for impeachment of Obama)
[6] See http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109226576685389289,00.html (or http://www.naegele.com/documents/MotherofAllBlackouts.pdf); see also http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121564702233840875.html?mod=d (“Iran may already have the capability to target the U.S. with a short-range missile by launching it from a freighter off the East Coast. A few years ago it was observed practicing the launch of Scuds from a barge in the Caspian Sea. This would be especially troubling if Tehran is developing EMP—electromagnetic pulse—technology.”)
[7] See http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109226576685389289,00.html
[8] See id. See also http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121564702233840875.html?mod=d (“A nuclear weapon detonated a hundred miles over U.S. territory would create an electromagnetic pulse that would virtually shut down the U.S. economy by destroying electronic circuits on the ground”). Gone would be lights, heat, air conditioning, TVs, computers, phones, the Internet and all other forms of electronic communications, and all gasoline pumps for cars and trucks . . . and the list goes on and on, seemingly forever and covering all electronic equipment on which a modern society like the U.S. depends.
[9] See http://www.empcommission.org/
[10] See http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109226576685389289,00.html
[11] Compare http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121564702233840875.html?mod=d (“Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Prague signing an agreement that’s a first step toward protecting Europe from ballistic missile attack”) with the fact that upon assuming the presidency, Barack Obama scuttled the missile defense system for Eastern Europe to appease Russia’s “dictator-for-life” Putin—who is a smoother version of Stalin, and should be treated as our enemy. See also http://newsmax.com/Newsfront/gringrich-emp-weapon/2009/03/29/id/329110 (“Even as the new administration plans to spend trillions on economic bailouts, it has announced plans to reduce funding and downgrade efforts for missile defense. Furthermore, the United States’ reluctance to invest in a modern and credible traditional nuclear deterrent is a serious concern. What good will a bailout be if there is no longer a nation to bail out?”)
Iran Set To “Stun” The West
Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that his country is set to deliver a “punch” that will stun world powers during the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. See http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.e0b08e9e64fe15a987c1cf73dd8c5fe2.521&show_article=1
Certainly, an EMP Attack would “stun” the United States and the world; however, it is unlikely that Iran or any other country or terrorist group would announce it beforehand. It would just happen—and Americans would wake up and watch the country that we know and love literally slip away from us, along with the lives of approximately 90 percent of our fellow Americans, including our loved ones and even our own.
It would be a human tragedy of incalculable and epic proportions, dwarfing all other man-made cataclysmic events in recorded history (e.g., Hitler’s Nazi Holocaust, Stalin’s Soviet Holocaust, Mao’s Chinese Holocaust) many times over.
See also http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin’s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao’s-chinese-holocaust/
Is there any table of probability (from a reliable source, like the war college) that could give a likely time table for the development and deployment of such a nuclear EMP strike against the United States?
Just wondering if the think tanks had the figures on this.
Thank you for your questions.
I am not aware of any. As my article above stated:
That was almost exactly seven years ago, so presumably they—and our other enemies—have come a long way since.
No doubt this could happen, but good oll Sol, (our Sun) could (will) do the same thing. This has already happened to a degree in Canada.
A large sunspot caused unusually large ground currents (millions of amps), of electrical energy moving through the ground and it shut there power system down.
The only solution is to have fast shutdown of the electrical system,
Chip
A space based defensive weapons platform, containing an x-ray laser, could knock down a launched nuke, given the appropriate timeliness of the order to do so.
Also, the THAAD system could, if given the order soon enough after launch detection, knock it down.
The lower in altitude that the threat is neutralized, the less the impacted area.
Thank you for your additional comments.
Yes, this might be true, but God help us if one launch is successful and the impact is nationwide.
9/11 Remembered
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1249885/New-World-Trade-Center-9-11-aerial-images-ABC-News.html
Enough time has passed that many of us can look at these extraordinary images with a certain sense of detachment, unlike the horror that still affects others of us who were right at the scene or within a short distance of it.
Quite amazing photographs, which I had never seen before today.
Please realize that as tragic as 9/11 was, an EMP Attack on the United States would make 9/11 seem like a walk in the park by comparison. Yes, human tragedies are all tragedies; however, some are life-threatening, while others are that and nation-threatening too.
Finally, Mainstream Media Wakes Up
The Wall Street Journal was out front on this issue years ago, as mentioned in my article, but Time magazine is just catching up. Better late than never.
See http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1976224,00.html
Avatar Is Shades Of An EMP Attack On America
Whatever the parallels between the movie, “Avatar,” and the destruction of ancient civilizations, perhaps the most poignant link—which most viewers will miss—is between an EMP Attack on America and the catastrophic results shown in the film before its ending.
As the article above points out, the devastation stemming from an EMP Attack would be real and decisive; and maybe 10 percent of Americans would survive, only to be conquered by others. Yes, it seems far-fetched to make comparisons to Hollywood’s fantasy films, but this one is real and a wake-up call—albeit unintended by the filmmakers.
Thank God!
The highly-respected Rasmussen polling organization is reporting:
See http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/holidays/may_2010/74_have_favorable_opinion_of_u_s_military
In the wake of what our Vietnam veterans went through, it is wonderful to see the support for our military, especially with two wars in progress, one of which is winding down.
Barack Obama ought to heed these results, and do nothing to weaken our military; and in fact, he should take all steps necessary to strengthen it in light of deadly challenges from China, Russia, North Korea, terrorists and elsewhere.
See, e.g., http://www.naegele.com/documents/MarkHelprin-FarewelltoAmericasChinaStation.pdf and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/ and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/emp-attack-only-30-million-americans-survive/ and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/obama-in-afghanistan-doomed-from-the-start/
While the facts seem to underscore the possibility of an EMP attack, I don’t believe there is a high probability of one occurring. (Former USAF pilot and best-selling author Chris Stewart has written an interesting fictional account of what this country might be like after an EMP attack.) But should it happen, as tragical as it would be, there would be millions of citizens who would survive and then rally and build up this country again. Contrary to what our enemies think, this country will not be destroyed.
Thank you for your comments, Brian.
I respectfully disagree, as my article indicates—and so does the Commission. The effects would be nation-threatening/ending, in all likelihood.
As for the possibility of it happening, no one would have thought that 9/11 could happen, or the attack on Pearl Harbor, but they did. Our enemies may be planning an EMP Attack as we write these words.
Let’s hope and pray that such an attack never happens or succeeds, but the only way to insure it is to be prepared with a strong missile defense “shield” in place, and a hardened military and civilian infrastructure.
“…but the only way to insure it is to be prepared with a strong missile defense ‘shield’ in place, and a hardened military and civilian infrastructure.” Agreed. And that’s why I don’t believe an EMP disaster will occur. But should it, eventually, we will prevail. During every major war, conflict, disaster, many were convinced that the world as we knew it was coming to an end. Yet we’ve always rallied to become better. I will continue to believe (and hope and pray) that this country’s unconquerable spirit will cause it to overcome whatever disaster–be it manmade or natural–confronts it. Regardless of the number of incompetents in our government, we will overcome. Thanks for your well-written articles.
One point to consider is that knowledge and technological know how is not lost, we would still have the ability to rebuild local communications as well as rebuild other infrastructure.
Thank you, Jeff, for your comments.
If an EMP Attack produces the catastrophic consequences discussed in my article—which simply mirrors what the commission and Wall Street Journal have described—I do not believe that what you suggest would be possible.
Glad that you are so sure that we cannot be destroyed. You might try convincing the tyrants in Iran and North Korea, as well as about a dozen other countries around the world that would like to take us down, that we cannot be taken down.
You might try reading “The Art of War”, by Sun Tsu. It might give a little better idea of what our enemies plan to do to us.
Thank you again for your comments.
Quite to the contrary, there is no certainty that we cannot be destroyed.
Thank you for your additional comments, Brian.
Obama has taken steps already to weaken our missile defenses, which were far from being perfected before he started “gutting” them. Also, as the Commission emphasized, little in the private sector is hardened to withstand such an attack, and the American military has only limited protection.
I believe in this great country, as you do; however, we are vulnerable to an EMP Attack just as we were to the attacks on 9/11, and at Pearl Harbor. You stated:
Both of us hope and pray that you are correct. However, our enemies are likely to have made an EMP Attack “priority one,” and we are not prepared for it. The alarm bells need to go off; and there is reason to believe that they will never go off at the anti-war, anti-military, far-Left Obama White House.
Thank you again.
A Sign Of Things To Come?
The electricity just went off, and the electric company indicates that the power outage is affecting approximately 5,000 residences in the community. It will not be restored for about 4-5 hours, or so they are predicting. I will live through that, as most people will in the area. However, imagine if this were an EMP Attack, which destroyed our power grids nationwide.
First, there would not be any TV or landline phones that worked. Our cell phones would die because they could not be “recharged,” which would be true of our laptop and other computers that run on electricity. The Internet would be down, and history. Gas pumps would stop working; and when cars and trucks ran out of fuel—including the vehicles used by law enforcement and our military—they would be useless. Gas stations would be empty and unusable.
The food in our refrigerators and freezers, and restaurants, would go bad in a short time; and there would not be food in our supermarkets to buy. Hospitals would be useless, if anyone could get to them. Schools would be closed too. Our water supplies would be cut off, because pumps are needed to provide it. Diseases would mount, inter alia, because there would not be any doctors available to prevent it, or the means to get to doctors or hospitals except by walking; and once they ran out of medicines, there would not be any more.
I just heard sirens, first from a police car and then from one or more fire trucks, or so I believe, probably going to handle traffic signals that are not working, or perhaps even a fire. In the event of an EMP Attack, criminals would be free to loot and kill at will; and fires would burn until they were extinguished by rain or they had burnt themselves out. It would be chaos, pure and simple.
. . .
It is about an hour later, and the power has been restored, ahead of schedule. In the event of an EMP Attack, our society would collapse—not in an hour or four hours, in most cases, but within days, weeks or months after we were attacked. Unbelievable you say, and fear mongering? Perhaps so, but a presidential commission and the Wall Street Journal have warned us already; and we would be fools not to heed their warnings and advice. One hour passed in the wink of an eye, but lifetimes can pass quickly too if we were attacked, 90 percent of all American lives, unless we plan for a possible EMP Attack before it ever happens.
Obama: “I’m Doing Defeat, And Cut And Run In Afghanistan. I’m Giving America Another Vietnam.”
The quote above is not actual, but a synthesis of Barack Obama’s policies with respect to his Afghan War. Like Lyndon Johnson before him, America’s supreme narcissist Obama thinks that he knows how to run a war. Leave aside the fact that he has never run anything in his life, much less successfully, and that he even failed as a community organizer in Chicago, he has the gall to believe that he can run a war.
See, e.g., http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/is-barack-obama-a-racist/
The Washington Post has a fine article about Bob Woodward’s new book, “Obama’s Wars,” which sums up the situation in Afghanistan:
Yet, the Post article cites Obama:
See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/21/AR2010092106706_pf.html
Having ignored the advice of America’s military leaders, Obama has crafted a strategy that insures defeat in Afghanistan . . . and the probable loss of Pakistan too, with its nuclear arsenal. There is little doubt that Obama will go down in history as America’s worst president and its greatest failure as a leader.
What is crystal clear from the Post article is that Obama is a fool and a feckless naïf, who must be driven from the presidency using every constitutional means possible. Among other things, the Post article reports:
This oaf is apparently unaware that the greatest threat to the United States and the American people—with respect to whom he swore an oath to defend and protect—comes in the form of an EMP Attack that might be launched from a barge off our Atlantic or Pacific coasts, or in the Gulf of Mexico or the Sea of Cortez.
It has been estimated that only 30 million Americans would survive such an attack; and it is criminal for Obama to say (or think) that “[w]e can absorb a terrorist attack.” Aside from his conclusion being preposterous and utter nonsense militarily, it is dangerous, irresponsible and traitorous!
See, e.g., http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/emp-attack-only-30-million-americans-survive/ and http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/09/on_terrorism_barack_obama_is_n.html and http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/obama-we-can-absorb-another-9-11/
Cheney’s Greatest Fear: A Nuclear Weapon In The Hands Of Terrorists
Former Vice President Dick Cheney was interviewed, and said that his greatest fear is a nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist.
See http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x618251210/Business-Conference-Lynne-Cheney-interviews-Dick-Cheney
This is my greatest fear too: an EMP Attack!
Finally . . .
. . . the mainstream media, other than the Wall Street Journal, is recognizing the risks of an EMP Attack!
In an excellent article entitled, “One EMP burst and the world goes dark,” USA Today states:
See http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2010-10-26-emp_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
An EMP attack has been a factor for quite some. I fail to see how this is the fault of Obama when the commission was formed in 2000 and delivered it’s report in 2004, four years before he was elected in 2008. You raise some interesting points but you are needlessly politicizing this issue with your own bias.
Thank you, John, for your comments.
Obviously the threat of an EMP Attack preceded Obama, so I am not blaming him for the risks involved. However, his failure to address such risks, much less adequately, may prove catastrophic for Americans and this great country in the future.
Both George Bush and Barack Obama have been made very aware of the EMP Commission’s report, and, both men have chosen not to protect and defend our nation against this most greivous threat. This is not a political football. This is reality. An EMP attack, just ONE EMP ATTACK, will be all that is needed to reduce this nation to a continent of about 30 million starving and sick human beings.
Yes, such an attack would likely result in the utter nuclear destruction of the offending nation and all of it’s inhabitants. That is, IF there is anyone left that can determine who is responsible, once all of our military satellites and intelligence gathering capabilities are fried.
So, let’s not think this thing is too political in nature. Survival is a matter of preparedness and a very good and fast termination of the attack vehicle in boost phase.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I agree completely.
It is a wonder that more Americans of all walks of life are not aware of this danger, and the possibility that it would end our great nation and our way of life forever.
Such an attack would make Pearl Harbor and 9/11 seem like child’s play; and if we were in our enemy’s shoes, this is all we would be concentrating on. In terms of the game of chess, it would be “checkmate.”
Well written piece and very good points but I must take issue with the finger pointing. The commission delivered it’s report in 2004 – Obama wasn’t elected in 2004, someone else was…in addtion, it was delivered to strongly Republican controlled Congress (Dems took over in 2006).
Look, these are important issues and I wholeheardedly agree…take the finger pointing out entirely (both sides) and I can stand by it. Leave it and it’s dismissed as a partisan jab.
Thank you, Dave, for your comments.
Please see my response to John Armstrong above.
Clearly, the risk of a catastrophic EMP Attack is not partisan in nature. Like 9-11 or Pearl Harbor before it—which were “child’s play” when compared to what an EMP Attack might produce—every American will suffer beyond belief if we fail to address this risk, which may be the greatest risk confronting the United States and the American people today and in the foreseeable future.
Attack On Pearl Harbor, and America—Again?
Exactly 69 years ago today, Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands was attacked, and America’s innocence was lost. We recovered as a people, and went on to defeat our enemies in World War II, and to become the world’s only superpower—a great nation in a sea of those who would destroy her if given half a chance.
Today, the threats against her come from a variety of sources, but the most serious is the possibility of an EMP Attack, which is described in the article above. We must be ever vigilant; and despite temptations to reduce our military might—and slash Pentagon budgets—in troubled economic times like these, we must resist such temptations and easy solutions.
See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor
The Terrorists’ “Nuclear Option”
Where would we be today without any Internet, cell phones or the like? Can any of us fathom if the Web ever went down worldwide, and stayed down? Arguably, the world runs on it today. Destroying it would be the ultimate terrorists’ “nuclear option,” aside from an EMP Attack that is discussed in the article above.
This might be the world’s and America’s “Achilles’ heel.”
Timothy,
while your credentials are certainly far more impressive than mine, they are notably lacking in any “tech” field, and you base your information on a WSJ editorial. Popular Mechanics and Popular Science both covered possible EMP scenarios over 6-8 years ago. For an EMP to work on the scale you seem to fear, an extremely large warhead would have to be launched into the atmosphere above the US’s Sovereign air space. Tell me who has the capabilities to launch such a rocket? China?
As someone on the supply/design side of the socioeconomic equation, I will agree that we are very much at war with China, but it is not a war of bombs. It is a philosophical/economical war. They have NOTHING to gain by such an attack, when they can instead purchase our country a piece at a time.
Consider this – when I am prototyping an invention and need steel or aluminum for a frame and capacitors, transistors, resistors and integrated circuits, it is actually CHEAPER for me to purchase an assembled Chinese product and take it apart than to buy just the materials from a US manufacturer. For instance, I can get an entire China made t6 aluminum car jack for $30-$50, where as just the t6 aluminum sheet would cost me MORE from a US manufacturer, and I also get a hydraulic cylinder. THAT is the real war being fought, and MANY WSJ commentators can’t seem to comprehend this. Whether it is because they work in financial sectors and have no idea what is happening on the supply side of this country, or they are blinded by their dividends, I can not say.
The BIGGEST thread to America is not the EMP. It is the possibility of nuclear material falling into the hands of Islamic Jihadists. For an EMP, they need a warhead and a launch site. For a “dirty bomb” all they need is several grams of nuclear isotope and ANY detonator device. When such a bomb goes off, there won’t be a nuclear reaction, but it will spread radioactive material in a plume, leaving a radius of 5-25 miles (depending on amount of isotope) of completely uninhabitable land. Can you imagine such an attack in a city such as New York? One guy with a suitcase could destroy the entire subway transit system for the rest of our lives and our grandchildren’s, and you worry about a possible EMP attack?
That Is why it was so vital that START be passed. While I am not so Naive as to assume we will have access to Russia’s entire nuclear arsenal, I am cynical enough to believe that they won’t get access to our entire arsenal either. The threat is their OLD warheads, which are no longer relevant. They have two choices of what to do with them. They can either disassemble and store them underground (like we do at Y-12, which is where I live near, or Los Alamos) OR they can sell them off to the highest bidder. Which option sounds more appealing to – as you put it – ” a third world country masquerading as a superpower?”
You seemed to appreciate reasonable discourse, and were one of the few on the WSJ comments section who didn’t immediately label anyone who supported START as a “libral kommie socializt, so I am very interested to hear your responses to my arguments. Know that I have voted Republican in every election except re election of our last governor to a second term (Phil Bredesen, a dino) and the last presidential election, in which I abstained due to the sour taste left by McCains picking of Palin as a running mate.
disclaimer: I DO NOT intend to say that the EMP is not a threat, I simply contend it is not -by far- the largest threat to our country at this current juncture.
Thank you, Nick, for your extensive comments, as well as your disclaimer.
First, as stated in my article above and its footnotes, and in my comments above as well, I did not base my information on a Wall Street Journal editorial at all. As indicated, the EMP Commission was created in 2000 to examine the possibility of an EMP attack and its aftermath; and it delivered reports to Congress in 2004 and thereafter. Having staffed a presidential commission as a young attorney with the U.S. Senate when I first began working on Capitol Hill, I realize how important such commissions can be, as well as the enormous classified and unclassified resources that are at their disposal.
See, e.g., http://www.empcommission.org/
Second, the commission members have not been “lightweights.”
Third, with all due respect to you and Popular Mechanics and Popular Science, the commission’s access to information has gone well beyond what is available to the public. This was true of the presidential commission that I staffed. Having served as an Army officer at the Pentagon assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency—where my civilian boss reported directly to the Director of DIA, and I participated in important briefings—I realize how much critical classified information is available, which is not available publicly.
Fourth, as indicated, one likely scenario involves the launch of a relatively unsophisticated EMP weapon from a “barge” located in the Gulf of Mexico, the Sea of Cortez, or off our Atlantic or Pacific Coasts. Some years ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had done testing in this regard, which has presumably advanced since then.
See http://www.naegele.com/documents/IransMissileThreat.pdf
Fifth, as you point out, enormous risks involve nuclear materials falling into the hands of terrorist groups, which can come from any number of sources inciuding but not limited to North Korea and Pakistan—which are not covered by the treaty.
Sixth, I do not trust the Russians one iota, much less their ability to control and safeguard nuclear materials.
Seventh, I agree with you that an EMP Attack may not be the largest threat to the United States in terms of the probability of it happening. However, it is certainly the largest threat to the American people if it did happen, because of its truly devastating consequences. Neither our military nor civilian infrastructure are “hardened” to withstand such an attack; and our ability to recover from one is questionable, to say the least.
Eighth, you began by suggesting that I was relying on a Wall Street Journal editorial, which I was not, as discussed above. However—and not to tout the Journal too much—it is probably the finest and most reliable publication in the United States. By and large, its articles are excellent and right on target. In the case of a possible EMP Attack on the United States, its two editorials on this subject, which are cited in footnote 3 of my article, are still excellent and worth reading.
See http://www.naegele.com/documents/MotherofAllBlackouts.pdf and http://www.naegele.com/documents/IransMissileThreat.pdf
Lastly, I am not an EMP expert by any means, nor do I profess to be one. Hence, with all due respect, I do not have the time or interest to debate you on this subject. You and I share, however, a love for our country as well as a concern about its vulnerabilities. I do not believe that the New START Treaty makes us any safer; and perhaps most importantly, it gives legitimacy and actually helps Putin and his brutal regime, which must be swept from power and replaced by a democratic nation that lives at peace with the world.
See, e.g., http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/ and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-1167
Thank you, Timothy, for the well written and thought out response. One of the great tragedies of the digital age is that our “sound byte” culture has almost completely destroyed reasonable discourse, especially in Washington. It is extremely refreshing to participate in one.
I realize you said you do not care to debate the subject, so you can consider this a clarification on my part, and I won’t be offended if you do not respond.
WSJ. While I appreciate their reporting, I find most of their editorial and commentary to be completely off the mark – in regards to the part of the country that I live in. For instance, there is a world of difference between $250K/year income in TN (which has an extremely low cost of living in no small part due to TVA and Y12 pork) and $250K in New York. That is getting off topic, though. I was reading the WSJ comments tab on a START article and saw you link to this several times, which then led to me spending a couple hours reading your blog. While I don’t always agree with your posts, they are well written and concise, and delve much further into underlying issues than the talking points I typically seen thrown around.
As for committees, I will have to take your word for it, as I know only what is passed down through the media machine. As a member of a younger generation living in the heartland, I watched a disproportionate number of my friends and neighbors march off to Baghdad based on information from a committee on WMDs. As a former serviceman, I’m sure you can even more fully appreciate their sacrifices than I can. BY NO MEANS do I mean to try to discredit or cast a negative light upon any committee work you may have participated in, I merely seek to show that as a younger man I have perhaps an unhealthy skepticism of government committees.
New START – Both my Republican Senators (Alexander, 3rd ranking, and Corker) voted for New START after Alexanders amendment that added 89? Billion for modernization. A large chunk of that goes to Y-12, and to decreasing our storage facilities to 1/15th the current size. It is currently sprawling and -IMHO- a large security risk. The amendment also clarifies that the treaty does not hamper our abilities to build a defense shield. It still leaves us with more than enough weapons to, as Alexander put it, “blow the world to kingdom come” many times over, and it improves ties with Russia.
While I don’t deny that Putin is a monster, it is always easier to deal with one foe at a time. North Korea, Iran, and Global Jihadists are bigger security threats, and my personal belief is that Rising China threatens our way of life the most, but in a non violent manner.
The EMP. While the EMP is a threat, we can eliminate that threat with some modernization of infrastructure. While I do not know the math concerning electron pulse of a nuclear warhead, everything electrical generates a small magnetic force. Most everything we use now a days (save for infrastructure) uses what is called a faraday cage, or a shield. If you cut a USB cable open, you will find a thin metal shielding around the transmission wires. This is to shield it from interference from all of your other devices. While I do not know if it would stop an EMP, the point is the fix for an EMP threat is one of the easier solutions facing us today, and I fear the fallout of the conventional nuclear warhead used for the EMP more.
Here is a rather new development, and seen in some circles as proof that our carriers are already shielded from EMPS, or in the process of becoming so.
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-12/navys-next-gen-electromagnetic-carrier-launch-system-hurls-its-first-planes-skyward
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13639_3-20026394-42.html
Basically, the first test of the Navy’s new Electo Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS). The Electromagnetic pulse generated by said system is done so by a 1,000,000HP motor. How the rest of the ships navigation and control equipment is shielded by the pulse is something that is heavily debated by commentators. Whether it is because the entire metal chassis of the carrier is acting as a giant faraday cage for the rest of the equipment, or they are adding some new shielding material, I can not say, but I can not help but see it as both proof that 1. we already have the technology to deal with an EMP, we just have to implement it, and 2. The military is already working on doing so with military assets. If we broadcast that we are doing so, all we do is create an opportunity for our enemies.
Thank you, Nick, for your additional comments, and for taking time to read this blog.
First, there are governmental committees, and then there are presidential and congressional commissions. They are often apples and oranges. For example, the commissions are for the most part handsomely funded, and often have large staffs and terrific access to classified and unclassified information. Based on what I know, the EMP Commission fits that bill; and its findings have been sobering, to say the least.
Second, with respect to issues of national security, the Wall Street Journal is generally right on target, and accurate, again based on what I know and my experiences.
Third, the reasons why the New START Treaty should not have been ratified, and why the next Republican administration should withdraw from it, are set forth elsewhere, so I will not repeat those discussions here.
See, e.g., http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/barack-obama-is-a-lame-duck-president-who-will-not-be-reelected/#comment-1195
Fourth, I respectfully disagree with your conclusion: “[T]he fix for an EMP threat is one of the easier solutions facing us today. . . .” Quite to the contrary, as my article above states: “[L]ittle in the private sector is hardened to withstand such an attack, and the American military has only limited protection.”
The effects of an EMP Attack on the United States might be catastrophic, and end all of our lives.
Fifth, any shielding relating to EMALS is like a drop of water in the vast oceans, by comparison with the idea of “hardening” our military and civilian infrastructures, which has not been done to any measurable extent yet. Among other things, the costs of doing so are staggering.
73% Of American Voters Fear Terrorists More Than A Nuclear Attack
This is the conclusion of the latest Rasmussen Poll. However, it neglects to mention that an EMP Attack can be launched by terrorists into our atmosphere, using a relatively small nuclear weapon, thereby producing truly cataclysmic results.
See http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/russia/73_fear_terrorists_more_than_nuclear_attack
One last clarification before I check out the Obama blog link.
While the cost of infrastructure shielding would be *astronomical* (I can’t figure out how to italicize), my point was that the technology to do so exists in a working form. On the other hand, the technology to stop a nuclear warhead launched from an off-coast barge for an EMP, is the same technology that would be needed to shoot down a conventional nuclear warhead launched from the same barge, aimed at a high value US target.
Since we have been working on a “star wars” program to do so for almost my entire life, still have zero results, and have spent billions, I believe that money would be better invested in upgrading our infrastructure. I don’t fear the nuclear warhead, I fear the dirty suitcase nuke.
I think Geiger counters should be placed in the vicinity of all high priority targets, at all times. The only way to counter them would be to used a lead-lined suitcase, and I like to believe that most Americans are going to be suspicious enough of a guy lugging around a suitcase he can barely lift!
Thank you again, Nick, for your comments.
As stated in my article above, quoting the Wall Street Journal:
Also, we have operational missile defenses now, which have proved to be effective, and need to be expanded dramatically.
Yes, I agree that dirty suitcase bombs are a major threat, but an EMP Attack is potentially the most devastating by many magnitudes.
I am a professional power supply designer, working on medical AC/DC supplies that are integrated into many different pieces of hospital equipment. I am aware of the EMP threat and the electrical consequences for our power grid. I want to spend that extra 1% to 3% you speak of on my design to implement hardening, and yet I find it difficult to find any design guidelines. Many EMP specifications are classified as secret, which doesn’t help at all.
Thank you, Joshua, for your thoughtful comments.
Yes, I understand the issue. You might wish to contact (1) the EMP Commission, (2) the Pentagon, and/or (3) the committees on the Hill that are charged with oversight responsibilities. What you have encountered must be true of lots of other businesses, large and small, foreign and domestic. As you indicate, there should be design guidelines, which are not “off limits” because of secrecy classifications.
Are We Moving Closer To A Nation-Threatening EMP Attack On America?
With the Middle East disintegrating, and America’s “Hamlet on the Potomac”—or “Jimmy Carter-lite”—Barack Obama being in full and hopeless retreat from the region (see, e.g., http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/is-barack-obama-a-racist/#comment-1357), the other “shoe” may be falling too. It has been announced that al Qaeda is on brink of using one or more nuclear bombs:
See http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Qaida+brink+using+nuclear+bomb/4205104/story.html
Also, in an article entitled, “WikiLeaks: tension in the Middle East and Asia has ‘direct potential’ to lead to nuclear war,” the UK’s Telegraph has reported:
See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8298427/WikiLeaks-tension-in-the-Middle-East-and-Asia-has-direct-potential-to-lead-to-nuclear-war.html
Pentagon Report Reveals China May Have Triggered Economic Crash
The UK’s Daily Mail has reported:
See http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1361898/Financial-terrorists-bankrupted-America-New-Pentagon-report-blames-U-S-enemies-financial-crisis.html
There is no question whatsoever that China and “dictator-for-life” Putin’s Russia are America’s enemies. Anyone who ignores this fact, or is oblivious to it, is more than simply naïve. He or she is potentially traitorous. Among other things, according to a Wall Street Journal editorial, “China and Russia have the capability to launch an EMP weapon—and have let us know it.” As a result of such an attack, only 30 Million Americans might survive.
See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/emp-attack-only-30-million-americans-survive/ (“EMP Attack: Only 30 Million Americans Survive”) ; see also http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/china-is-americas-enemy-make-no-mistake-about-that/ and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/
OSAMA IS DEAD, AND OBAMA MUST BE IMPEACHED
Multiple sources have confirmed that 9/11 terrorist mastermind, bin Laden, is dead. The Wall Street Journal has reported:
See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704569404576297941397558496.html?mod=#articleTabs%3Darticle; see also http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/us-binladen-pakistan-photos-idUSTRE74370620110504 (“Photos show three dead men at bin Laden raid house”) and http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Analysis/de-Borchgrave/2011/05/03/Commentary-Pakistans-split-personality/UPI-50101304416227/ (“The sad truth about bin Laden’s burial at sea is that it will have little impact on the global war on terrorism“) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382760/Osama-Bin-Laden-dead-Will-cutting-snakes-head-kill-Al-Qaeda.html (“Will cutting off the snake’s head kill Al Qaeda when Bin Laden was little more than an isolated figurehead?”—”If anything, there could be an increase in attacks on the West to avenge the killing of Bin Laden“) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382831/Senator-Scott-Brown-heading-Afghanistan-National-Guard-training.html (“I commend President Obama, former President Bush and the highly capable men and women in our military and intelligence community whose tireless work over the last decade made this day possible”) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382815/Osama-Bin-Laden-dead-Who-Obamas-Navy-SEALS-Team-6.html (“They are the U.S. military’s super soldiers . . . Navy SEALs from the famed SEAL ‘Team Six’—these secretive warriors are one of the most fearsome fighting forces in the world . . . the best of the best . . . [and] the success of the bin Laden raid proves just how versatile they are”—and “It hurts my heart that such warriors are needed . . . [but it] makes my heart swell with pride that the US has them”) and http://www.sealswcc.com/seal-default.aspx and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383482/Osama-Bin-Laden-dead-Did-US-forces-use-stealth-helicopters-raid.html (“Did U.S. forces use secret stealth helicopters in bin Laden raid?”) and http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-stealth-chopper-20110507,0,3304582,full.story (“Bin Laden raid reveals another elusive target: a stealth helicopter”)
Osama bin Laden’s death is a victory for U.S. intelligence and the heroic American military, not for Barack Hussein Obama who has been “gutting” the U.S. military and plans more of the same—which is why Leon Panetta is going to the Pentagon. At best, Obama is a narcissistic demagogue who is weakening the security of the United States; and he must be impeached.
As former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey warned in a Wall Street Journal article, the killing of Osama bin Laden was a great victory for the U.S. intelligence community, but it may well be the last one because of Obama’s refusal to use tough tactics such as waterboarding on terror suspects:
See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703859304576305023876506348.html
Clearly, Obama must be removed from office. He is a threat to the security of the United States, and the American people.
See also http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1384070/Osama-Bin-Ladens-death-9-11-families-angry-Obamas-handling.html (“‘He took the spotlight’: 9/11 families angry over Obama’s handling of Bin Laden’s death“); and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/barack-obama-is-a-lame-duck-president-who-will-not-be-reelected (see also the footnotes and other comments beneath the article) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383860/Osama-Bin-Laden-dead-George-Bush-angry-Obama-does-Ground-Zero-victory-lap.html (“Jilted George Bush angry at lack of credit for catching Bin Laden as Obama prepares for Ground Zero ‘victory lap’”) and http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/evil_does_not_die_of_natural_causes/2011/05/05/AFhTKG2F_story.html (“[T]he bin Laden operation could never have happened [without the] Global War on Terror infrastructure that critics, including Barack Obama himself, deplored as a tragic detour from American rectitude“) http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=43326 (“Thanks to our feckless president, most of the Middle East is rapidly degenerating into a terrorist fever-swamp“) and http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703859304576306941215709576.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADSecond (“Bin Laden’s Death Changes Little“) and http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/ericholder-guantanamobay-closure/2011/05/09/id/395712?s=al&promo_code=C3C3-1 (“Eric Holder Vows to Close Guantanamo“)
. . .
Also, in an important article entitled, “Pakistan: Cutting to the quick,” UPI Editor at Large Arnaud de Borchgrave states:
See http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Analysis/de-Borchgrave/2011/05/06/Commentary-Pakistan-Cutting-to-the-quick/UPI-20221304676040/; see also http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/5/evidence-at-bin-ladens-home-raises-nuclear-concern/ (“Evidence at bin Laden’s home raises nuclear concerns“)
. . .
One “hostile government” that might get clues to sensitive U.S. military technology from what is left of the American helicopter that crashed at the bin Laden compound in Pakistan—if it has not done so already—is of course China, whose presence in Pakistan is considerable. Indeed, China would like nothing more than to fill the vacuum if, or rather when, the United States withdraws from Afghanistan.
One must never forget that China was on the spot almost immediately after the American F-117 Nighthawk was shot down over Serbia in 1999—and we failed to destroy the wreckage. Indeed, the Chinese gleaned some of their technological know-how from that crash; and there is evidence to support the fact that China’s new stealth aircraft is the result of reverse engineering gained from the crash.
History may repeat itself in Pakistan, as our enemy China seeks to leap frog American technological advances.
See, e.g., http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703992704576305573936767298.html (“Crashed Copter Sparks Concern About Secrets”) and http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-raid-pakistan-hints-china-peak/story?id=13570573 (“Osama Bin Laden Raid: Pakistan Hints China Wants a Peek at Secret Helicopter”) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1385728/Osama-Bin-Laden-dead–stealth-helicopter-blackhawk-china-Pakistan.html (“Pakistan to let Chinese plunder secret U.S. stealth helicopter downed in Bin Laden raid“)
. . .
Also, a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan would constitute the death knell of Afghan women—and their rights—who were brutalized by the Taliban before the United States invaded the country.
See, e.g., http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/barack-obama-is-a-lame-duck-president-who-will-not-be-reelected/#comment-1102
Russian Despot Putin’s Repression Continues, While Obama Is Endorsed
In an article entitled, “Medvedev hints he and Putin won’t be 2012 rivals,” Reuters has reported:
See http://ca.news.yahoo.com/medvedev-hints-putin-wont-2012-rivals-213400461.html
It is not surprising that his lapdog, Medvedev, will not oppose Russia’s “Hitler,” Putin, in perpetuating his brutal de facto dictatorship. Hitler’s henchmen and those of Stalin did not oppose them either.
Similarly, it is not surprising that they would endorse and embrace Barack Obama, who was responsible for giving them the New START Treaty. George W. Bush withdrew from the ABM Treaty, which had expressly prevented major advances in missile defense. The next GOP administration must withdraw from the New START Treaty as soon as it comes to power.
See, e.g., http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-1137 and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-1147 (“Obama And His Democrats Did Not Get The Message—Their Ranks Need To Be Thinned Even More, Starting With Obama”) and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-1167 (“Russia Warns Against START Changes—So What?”) and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-1182 (“Republicans Who Voted To Ratify START Should Be Defeated”) and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-1194 (“The New START Treaty Is Another Obama Travesty—Like ObamaCare—Which The Next GOP Administration Should Withdraw From Immediately”) and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-1245 and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/russias-putin-is-a-killer/#comment-1397 (“WikiLeaks cables: US agrees to tell Russia Britain’s nuclear secrets”) and http://www.theotherrussia.org/2011/06/09/russia-nato-missile-defense-negotations-break-down/ (“Russia-NATO Missile Defense Negotations Break Down”)
In important testimony before Congress, former world chess champion and chairman of the United Civil Front—a pro-democracy group—and co-chair of the Russian Solidarity Movement, Garry Kasparov stated:
See http://www.theotherrussia.org/2011/06/19/kasparov-asks-congress-to-take-a-courageous-stand/ (“Kasparov to Congress: Take a Courageous Stand [And Stop Treating Vladimir Putin And Other Corrupt Russian Officials As Members Of An Actual Democracy]“) (emphasis added)
The Washington Post’s Fred Hiatt has added with respect to Kasparov:
See http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/garry-kasparov-has-a-suggestion/2011/06/17/AGPUyiYH_blog.html
The KGB lieutenant-colonel who became Russia’s ruler, Putin, must be tried, convicted for his many crimes globally, and terminated. His lackey, Medvedev, is also complicit; and he too must be tried, convicted and imprisoned, at the very least.
The West’s goal must be to bring down a Russia increasingly focused on domination and replace it with a democratic nation that lives at peace with the world—and this is true with respect to China as well.
See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/china-is-americas-enemy-make-no-mistake-about-that/ (see also all of the footnotes and comments beneath the article and http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/the-silent-voices-of-stalin’s-soviet-holocaust-and-mao’s-chinese-holocaust/#comment-900)
The Future Still Belongs To America
This is the title of an important Wall Street Journal article by Professor Walter Russell Mead—subtitled, “This century will throw challenges at everyone[, but the] U.S. is better positioned to adapt than China, Europe or the Arab world”—which states in pertinent part the following:
See http://www.naegele.com/documents/TheFutureStillBelongstoAmerica.pdf (bold emphasis added); see also http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/america-a-rich-tapestry-of-life (“America: A Rich Tapestry Of Life”)
The only thing on the horizon that might dampen the American future that Professor Mead has described is a nation-ending EMP Attack, which might kill all except for 30 million Americans, and end any future that we might envision.
Query whether we are totally and absolutely protected against such an attack, or whether America’s “prince of darkness”—and its consummate narcissistic demagogue, “Hamlet on the Potomac” and “Jimmy Carter-lite”—Barack Obama, is weakening our great nation’s military strength in ways that will dramatically change the course of history?
See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/emp-attack-only-30-million-americans-survive/; see also http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/barack-obama-is-a-lame-duck-president-who-will-not-be-reelected/
Stuxnet-Like Attacks On Our Power Grid And Other Infrastructure
Concerns have been raised about Stuxnet-like attacks, and whether they would be just as devastating—or more so—than a deadly and possibly nation-ending EMP Attack, and when such attacks might occur.
First, there are some who predict that an EMP Attack will occur sooner rather than later; and one person who has contacted me believes one will happen sometime next year.
Second, I cannot predict the timing of either type of attack, much less with precision. All we can do is be prepared as much as humanly possible. Needless to say, if an EMP Attack occurs, it might make Pearl Harbor and 9/11 seem like child’s play.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberwarfare#Various_case_histories (“In September 2010, Iran was attacked by the Stuxnet worm, [which] . . . is said to be the most advanced piece of malware ever discovered and significantly increases the profile of cyberwarfare”) and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet and http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/us-industrial-processes-vulnerable-stuxnet-attack
Both types of attacks—and others—might be devastating to the United States. However, I am most concerned about the possibility of an EMP Attack, which has been described as “a ‘giant continental time machine’ that would move us back more than a century in technology to the late 1800s,” and effectively destroy our great nation and kill most Americans.
It’s an interesting theory in that it mirrors virtually the same scenario described by Andrew Collins. Except that the source of the electromagnetic anomaly would come from a mass ejection of neutron particles from a binary star located in the Cygnus Constellation over 1500 light years away.
He proposes that this was / is the natural phenomena that caused the evolution as well as the “set back” in technology, that reverts man back into the stone age, over and over again, eon after eon.
Would the question be, at what time intervals would our solar system come in alignment with this mass ejection? Could it be that the mass ejection hitting our sun would cause our sun to over energize and throw off larger flares that would effect the Earth?
That would also explain the highly advanced capabilities of lost civilizations. Archeologist unearthing amazing ancient stone monuments and celestial observatories that only could have been manufactured by advanced machine tools with laser accuracy.
http://www.andrewcollins.com/page/articles/thecygnusmystery.htm
There Are Zero Questions That China Is America’s Enemy As It Builds EMP Weapons For Use Against Us
The Washington Times’ highly-respected columnist and reporter, Bill Gertz, has written:
See http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/21/beijing-develops-radiation-weapons/; see also http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-07-27-china-strengthens-military_n.htm (“China’s military flexes its muscle”) and http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MILITARY_COUNTERFEIT_PARTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-11-08-13-41-48 (“Fake weapons parts [from China are] ‘ticking time bomb’”)
Will The Euro Crisis Will Give Germany The Empire It Has Always Dreamed Of?
This issue is discussed in an excellent and very sobering article by Peter Oborne, the UK Telegraph’s chief political commentator, which states in pertinent part as follows:
See http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peteroborne/100098260/this-crisis-will-give-germany-the-empire-its-always-dreamed-of/ (emphasis added); see also http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c087c30e-b3be-11e0-855b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Smxa2CKN (“Athens’ ability to stay course in doubt”) and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8653579/Europe-steps-up-to-the-plate.html (“Europe’s economic recovery is sputtering out”) and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8656572/Eurozone-debt-crisis-Europes-politicians-will-be-punished-for-a-deal-dripping-with-moral-hazard.html (“At some point the Germans will realise that the package is a thinly-veiled fiscal union which makes the transfers they funnelled into East Germany look like small change, and they will revolt at the ballot boxes”)
. . .
There are those who preach the tenets of creating a global government; and they maintain that the constitution of a new world order is essential to maintain democracy. Also, they contend that the regulation of the economy by a global financial institution can be a solution to the financial crisis that began in 2007, and such an institution would be a first step towards the creation of a global government, of which the European Union is an illustration.
Barack Obama agrees with this; and it is among the many reasons why he must not be reelected next year. Indeed, he will “retreat” either to Chicago or Hawaii no later than January of 2013, to lick his political wounds and write his memoirs, and work full time on his golf scores and his presidential library.
“Global governance” is pure and utter nonsense. Indeed, lots of Americans would gladly get rid of the UN, and ship it to France or elsewhere in Europe, and let the French or other Europeans pay for it. Global governance is “Mary Poppins-esque” and/or “Alice in Wonderland-esque.”
Americans do not want Germany or France participating in the governance of anything relating to the United States, any more than Hitler’s Germany should have done it. This is among the reasons why World War II was fought by the United States. America’s history abhors “meddling” in our affairs, which is exactly what global governance entails, and much much more. A majority of Americans might be willing to give up their lives fighting to insure that this never happens.
France did not win World War II. Americans saved Frenchmen from “enslavement” by the Germans. But for the United States, the French might be speaking German today as their “native” tongue. Indeed, a German-American—Dwight David Eisenhower—destroyed Hitler and his monstrous “Thousand-Year Reich.” France did not do it. France was flat on its pathetic back.
The United States has real enemies in this world today, who want to destroy us (e.g., China’s military, Putin and his Stalinist thugs in Russia, North Korea, Islamic fascists). We cannot rely on France or Europe to defend us—militarily, economically or in any other way. Indeed, France and Germany are perhaps the last countries in the world to preach to the United States about democracy. Americans have given their lives for it. France has only “talked” about it.
Lastly, Americans are not about to trust their survival, the survival and national security of our great country, and our freedoms and democracy to France or Germany, two countries that lost World War II.
Steve Jobs’ Legacy
When I first started using the Web, and put up a Web site, the Internet was being referred to as a “dirt road,” and not an information superhighway. Since then, it has grown geometrically and become much more sophisticated; and the current estimates are that out of the 6.9 billion people globally, approximately 2 billion use the Internet today.
See http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
Wow . . . all of us may say or think. How far we have come in a relatively short period of time. We bank with it; we meet our spouses (or significant others) using it; we buy most things via it; information is exchanged, and teaching is conducted like never before; revolutions are begun and continued because people connect through the Web; and elections are won or lost based on the Internet. Yet, few users realize how vulnerable it is to an EMP or other attack, which might bring it crashing down.
See http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/emp-attack-only-30-million-americans-survive/ and http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/10/virus-hits-drone-fleet/ (“Exclusive: Computer Virus Hits U.S. Drone Fleet”) and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2046660/U-S-drones-killed-American-Al-Qaeda-boss-infected-virus-amid-fears-terrorists-logging-move.html (“U.S. drones that killed American Al Qaeda boss ‘infected by virus’ amid fears terrorists are logging their every move”); see also http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/are-colleges-dinosaurs/
What Steve Jobs accomplished, as great as it has been, would not have been possible without the Internet. I am using my fifth-generation Apple laptop; and over the years, I have purchased lots of other Apple products, beginning with a PowerBook 160 almost 20 years ago. Like many other Apple users, I swear by them. Some of us have even communicated in the past with Steve, who has been receptive to many new ideas.
While the future is exceedingly bright, it is also fraught with enormous problems and challenges. China, Russia and other countries try to hack into the Pentagon’s computers on a regular basis; and they must be treated in substantially the same manner as if an enemy launched missiles against our cities. Fraudsters bilk Americans and others out of billions of dollars; and this will only get far worse with the passage of time. Law enforcement seems paralyzed when trying to address such problems, because they cross jurisdictional lines; and the necessary resources are not there, owing principally to declining budgets.
See, e.g., http://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/lawyers-and-internet-scams/
Steve was a hero to so many people, yet his final verdict may become available shortly, when an authorized biography is released; and in the future when true “insiders,” such as John Lasseter of Pixar/Disney, share their views of Steve and having worked with him and contributed mightily to many of his enormous successes.
See http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/10/05/pixars-john-lasseter-on-the-death-of-steve-jobs/?KEYWORDS=Lasseter
With tributes pouring in from around the world, an article in the UK’s Economist may have said it best about Steve:
See http://www.economist.com/node/21531529
Indeed, as much as Bill Gates and Microsoft undoubtedly have been very successful, this may be Steve’s lasting legacy, and not that of his competitors. He made computing fun, for lots of us who are not geeks and never will be; and we will always thank him and honor him for that gift.
Hello Mr. Naegele,
I have no idea if you respond to comments made on your old blog posts but never hurts to try. I have a question.
You seem to understand EMPs well. I was just wondering, the use of weapons to create EMP attacks has long been known since the 1940′s (maybe even earlier) with Fishbowl and was further tested in Russia. What’s more interesting is that the weapon made for an EMP attack could be like the ones the U.S. used in the 1940′s testing. There’s all these articles on how the U.S. is so vulnerable—and really with that, any technologically reliant nation.
So why hasn’t some terrorist nation attacked us yet? They could somewhat easily do it. They have the resources—and the capabilities for well over 30 years.
thanks,
Cecaria
Thank you for your comments.
First, to launch a successful EMP Attack, a terrorist group or nation must have (1) a nuclear warhead; (2) a missile or delivery system that is fully capable of reaching high enough into our atmosphere that the desired effect is achieved; and (3) a “launch pad,” which might be a barge or other ship located off our coast (e.g., the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico, the Sea of Cortez). Absent the presence of all three elements, such an attack cannot happen.
Second, to date, no terrorist group or nation seems to have put all three elements together, and had the will to attack. I am concerned, however, that we are vulnerable to such an attack, which might happen at any time. While I have great faith and trust in the American military, attacks can happen; and the events of 9/11 underscore this fact.
Third, as Obama seeks to “gut” our military, the risks increase enormously.
Just wanted to say thanks for the article and discussion!!!
Thank you, Damon.