What precautions are we taking to protect our country from a detonation of an electromagnetic pulse?

TRANSCRIPT

Ever heard of Electromagnetic pulse, or EMP? Probably not, unless you’re a nuclear weapons expert.
In the 1950’s, At the dawn of the nuclear age, most weapons analysts focused on the unparalleled death and destruction even one nuclear weapon would cause. Bomb blast, fireball, radiation poisoning. But few thought about electromagnetic pulse – the invisible wave of electricity that would fry electronic circuits seemed almost trivial.

But flash forward 60 years to modern, high tech America. Today every aspect of our lives depends on electronics, computers, the internet and satellites – our armed forces, our banking system, our communications networks, our infrastructure.

What if the electricity suddenly went out? One nuclear warhead detonated high above North America would produce a shockwave powerful enough to knock out the entire electric grid and all electronic devices. Not just a temporarily because the system was overloaded, but a permanently because the circuits were fried?

Nothing would work – not the phone system, or water pumping stations, or planes, cars or trains. Your toilet wouldn’t flush and your car wouldn’t start. Planes would stop in mid air. The only way to communicate would be face to face. Credit cards would be useless.

Tens of millions would die of disease and starvation. We would be thrown, unprepared and within seconds, into a pre-electric world. America would likely never recover. Unthinkable? Think again.

Who would do it to us? Who could? Any country with the ability to shoot a nuclear tipped missile at the US. That’s China and Russia today or North Korea and Iran tomorrow.

It’s time we start thinking about the unthinkable. What’s our defense?

There are two things we can do – today – spend a $100 million dollars to to harden the electric grid and national infrastructure, and prevent rouge states from acquiring nuclear weapons.