I neglected to mention in my last post that the “33 minute” missile flight time from Iran or North Korea is an unlikely scenario. That’s actually much more warning than we’d really get, plus it would allow us to immediately retaliate against our attackers. Much more likely is the scenario in “One Second After”—a shorter-range missile launched from a freighter in the Gulf of Mexico. That would give us maybe 10 minutes, and no one to retaliate against.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
EMP part 2
EMP
We’ve all seen films and pictures of the horrific devastation caused by the detonation of atomic bombs in Hioshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II. Could the explosion of a single bomb—one that results in absolutely no blast damage—actually be worse?
I just finished reading the novel “One Second After”, by William Forstchen, about an EMP attack on the United States. EMP refers to the electromagnetic pulse that would be generated by a high-altitude nuclear explosion. The book has been reviewed by nuclear experts and is technically accurate.
It’s hard to imagine the impact of such a strike, but you don’t have to—Forstchen has done it for you. The stark estimates are that up to 90% of the US population would be dead within a year.
The Heritage Foundation has released a documentary called “33 Minutes”, which refers to the flight time of a missile from Iran or North Korea. You can see an excerpt at http://www.heritage.org/33-minutes/. EMP is also mentioned here.
Still not sure? The first and most vital duty of the Federal government is to "provide for the common defense". In 2001 Congress authorized “The Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack”. Their report was issued in April 2008. Since that time, though, Congress has done nothing about this threat. In fact, they have reduced spending on missile defense systems!
This is a huge vulnerability. And our enemies know about it.
I just finished reading the novel “One Second After”, by William Forstchen, about an EMP attack on the United States. EMP refers to the electromagnetic pulse that would be generated by a high-altitude nuclear explosion. The book has been reviewed by nuclear experts and is technically accurate.
It’s hard to imagine the impact of such a strike, but you don’t have to—Forstchen has done it for you. The stark estimates are that up to 90% of the US population would be dead within a year.
The Heritage Foundation has released a documentary called “33 Minutes”, which refers to the flight time of a missile from Iran or North Korea. You can see an excerpt at http://www.heritage.org/33-minutes/. EMP is also mentioned here.
Still not sure? The first and most vital duty of the Federal government is to "provide for the common defense". In 2001 Congress authorized “The Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack”. Their report was issued in April 2008. Since that time, though, Congress has done nothing about this threat. In fact, they have reduced spending on missile defense systems!
This is a huge vulnerability. And our enemies know about it.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
“Congressional hearing to barbeque Wall Street executives are as fun as a circus, but with more clowns.”
--Alan Reynolds (Cato Institute) [link]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)