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In 2004, the congressionally mandated Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack released an unclassified executive report on its broader study of the U.S.’s vulnerability to EMP weapons strikes.[1] In 2008, the commission released a follow-up report that detailed the vulnerabilities of the critical infrastructures of the U.S. to EMP strikes.[2] Taken together, these two reports make it clear that an EMP attack could inflict severe damage on the U.S. As the initial report stated, “EMP is one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences.”

Congress should not let the Obama Administration ignore the commission’s findings. Instead, it should mandate an updated assessment of which countries may be pursuing EMP weapons and associated delivery systems and platforms. Further, Congress should demand that the Administration develop, test, and ultimately field defenses against EMP attacks, including improved ballistic missile defenses capable of countering short-range ballistic missiles that can carry EMP warheads.

What Is EMP?

EMP is triggered by the detonation of a nuclear weapon at a high altitude over the earth. As a result of this detonation, an electromagnetic field radiates down to the earth, creating electrical currents.

These fields cause widespread damage to electrical systems–the lifeblood of a modern society like the U.S. In turn, the damaged electronic systems can cause a cascade of failures throughout the broader infrastructure, including banking systems, energy systems, transportation systems, food production and delivery systems, water systems, emergency services, and–perhaps most damaging–cyberspace.

Effectively, the U.S. would be thrown back to the pre-industrial age following a widespread EMP attack.

What Congress Should Do

The lack of public awareness regarding the disturbing implications of an EMP attack may prompt the Obama Administration to set aside proposals for addressing this problem. Congress should not let this happen. Specifically, Congress should take the following three steps:

Step No. 1: Require the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to Produce a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) Describing Which Countries Are Capable of Launching an EMP Strike. The NIE should review not only the weapons systems themselves but the delivery systems and platforms capable of carrying the weapons. Additionally, Congress should obtain from the NIE the intelligence community’s assessment of how EMP-capable countries are incorporating those weapons into their broader military strategies.

The latter assessment would permit the President and his advisors to determine how the U.S. could respond to EMP threats as they arise. Such planning is an essential part of providing an effective defense against these threats.

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Read the full web memo at Heritage.org.

The Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano writes about electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks in his Washington Examiner column: “An EMP attack: Thinking the unthinkable.”

A nuclear weapon detonated high over the U.S. would produce something called the EMP effect, a blast of electromagnetic waves that would short-circuit electrical components such as power grids and circuits that allow you to start a car. Carafano further describes the effects:

“In addition to thermal, radiation, heat and concussive force, an atomic detonation throws off an incredible amount of electro-magnetic energy…Picture a massive tsunami, but with lightning instead of water. And, like the surge produced by lightning, electrical systems act like antennas sucking down a rush of electrons that fry circuits and burn out micro-chips.”

A nuclear weapon detonated 200 miles above the earth isn’t the scenario most people associate with such weapons. A deliberate EMP attack, says Carafano, would have a devastating impact on its target.

“Just keeping modern-day America fed would be virtually impossible without working transportation or communications systems,” he writes. “Water pumping and sewage treatment plants would be off-line. Modern medical care would be virtually non-existent. Even if the rest of the world mustered the largest humanitarian mission in human history, the suffering would be unprecedented.”

EMP attacks may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but they are not. Carafano warns that our Departments of Defense and Homeland Security must give the possibility of EMP attacks higher priority and plan for such a disaster. The Obama administration has proposed to cut the missile defense budget by 10 percent. This seems to indicates that an EMP disaster is not a high enough priority. History can and will repeat itself.

“The idea that someone would attack the U.S. with jet airliners once seemed unthinkable. An EMP attack may seem today just as remote. But it’s time to play it safe — and start figuring out how to deal with it.”

 
Writing for the American Spectator, Brett Joshpe explains the effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks.

A blast of EMP waves would short-circuit electrical components such as the power grid and electronic circuits that allow you to start car. Joshpe said he attended two lectures on EMP and believes the topic should be discussed more. An excerpt:

“Unlike past blackouts, such as the one that occurred in the summer of 2003 and left much of the northeastern U.S. without electricity, the lights would not come back on for years potentially. The U.S. would be plunged into a primitive state in which people scrounged for food and water to survive. Money would be worthless, our economy would revert to bartering, and one’s most valuable assets would be guns and ammunition.

“So, how likely or plausible is this sort of attack? More so than we would like. In 2004, the Electromagnetic Pulse Commission, which Congress established, issued a Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack. It concluded that ‘EMP is one of a small number of threats that has the potential to hold our society seriously at risk and might result in defeat of our military forces.’ The Commission issued another report in 2008 in which it concluded that ‘The electromagnetic pulse generated by a high altitude nuclear explosion is one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences.’”

Joshpe notes that the Department of Homeland Security provides some information on its web site about EMP effects but misleads readers into believing EMP will harm only “pacemakers or other implanted electronic devices.” Read the full text of the article for more information.

 
A nuclear weapon detonated high over the U.S. would produce something called an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effect, a blast of electromagnetic waves that would short-circuit electrical components such as power grids and circuits that allow you to start a car. One minute we’re an advanced high-tech society; the next, we’re plunged back into the 18th century.

Military historian Bill Forstchen has a written a book titled, One Second After, a fictionalized account of what would happen in the aftermath of an EMP attack on the U.S.

Forstchen appeared on Pajamas Media TV to talk about his book. See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

 
The Heritage Foundation’s Jena Baker McNeill and James Jay Carafano have written a memo titled “Congress Should Establish EMP Recognition Day.”
 
They posit that the threat of an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) attack against the U.S. is a credible one. An EMP attack is produced by detonating a nuclear weapon launched by a ballistic missile. The results would damage electrical and information systems, including banking and finance, and food and water. In other words, such an attack would disable systems we need to be a functional society.
 
If an EMP attack occurred tomorrow, what would happen? McNeill and Carafano contend that transportation would come to a halt, food delivery would cease, and traffic lights would go dark. Blackberries addicts would suffer withdrawal, and GPS would not work.
 
The memo provides a brief history of President Ronald Reagan’s speech on March 23, 1983, in which he proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a plan that focused on building and implementing missile defense systems. McNeill and Carafano call on Congress to recognize the threat of an EMP attack and to designate March 23, the anniversary of Reagan’s speech, as EMP Recognition Day. Such an action would raise awareness and possibly prompt Congress to appropriate funds for research and development.
 
Read the full memo for more information.

Not only is nuclear terrorism a threat because of the associated radiation and sheer explosive power, but a nuclear warhead could be used simultaneously to commit an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack.

An EMP attack occurs when the strong electromagnetic pulse associated with the detonation of a nuclear warhead significantly disrupts infrastructure by damaging power grids and electronic signals. The Heritage Foundation’s Jack Spencer detailed how EMP attacks were capable of committing a substantial blow to America by stifling the ability of the military, first responders and critical infrastructure to operate and respond to public needs. As the threat of nuclear terrorism increases and Iran continues to engage in nuclear grandstanding, so does the threat of these types of attacks.

States are recognizing the threat of these EMP attacks and making preparations. Last year, Alaska made the decision to add an EMP attack to its emergency response plan. Other states have followed suit. These decisions are the right move for states at risk for such an attack and are the right move to decrease the over-federalization of disaster preparedness.

The threat of EMP attacks highlights the need for a robust, resilient infrastructure that is equipped to continue operation, even after such an attack. America must not continue to rely exclusively on measures aimed at preventing all attacks but must ensure that in the event of an attack America is not crippled to extinction.

In his job at The Heritage Foundation, Jim Carafano (left in photo) coordinates research on national security and foreign policy. Making movies isn’t his thing. But last week he flew to Los Angeles to do just that. Here’s a report he filed from 30,000 feet:

It’s my task to make sure “33 Minutes” is technically accurate and “fair and balanced,” but I also go stuck with a cameo roll. It’s my job to explain the impact of a nuclear weapon delivered by a ballistic missile.

We started filming in New York to demonstrate what would happen in a missile attack on the Big Apple. In Los Angeles, I talked about what would happen if a nuclear weapon, instead of being detonated over a city, exploded at a very high-altitude above the center of the United States. The short answer is we would all be victims, New York, Los Angeles, and everyone across the 3,000 miles of the United States.

We would all be victims of EMP — Electromagnetic Pulse, a force so powerful it would fry every electronic device in America from the electrical grid to iPods.

While in Southern California, the filming took me to the home of Dr. Bill Graham, former chairman of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack and the former national science adviser to President Ronald Reagan. Graham was just in Washington last week testifying to Congress about the EMP threat.

The taping in Los Angeles couldn’t be more timely with all the news about Iranian “saber-rattling” missile tests, negotiations with North Korea over nuke inspections, and riveting testimony on the Hill over the threat nuclear weapon generated EMP. They serve to remind us how important it is to tell this story.