Dakota Beacon

During my recent vacation I consumed a novel about a subject with which I am somewhat familiar. Most folks may not be familiar with electromagnetic pulse or EMP.

“One Second After” is a work of fiction by William R. Forstchen with a non-fiction Afterword by his friend Navy Captain Bill Sanders. Forstchen’s book reached #11 on the NY Times Fiction Best Seller List in May 2009. Captain Sanders provides factual commentary on EMP citing the report of the US EMP Commission released just prior to 9/11 (and dwarfed by that horrific event) and the book “The Effects of Nuclear Weapons” published by the US Department of Defense.

While the Obama administration focuses on the improbability of thwarting global warming, his administration totally ignores the very real probability of an EMP attack.

This space is not intended to provide a book review. It is intended to raise awareness of an aspect of asymmetrical warfare seldom, if ever, considered by the press, Hollywood or elsewhere.

Should we be concerned about Iran or North Korea developing nuclear weapons or the means of delivery? Their rockets, currently, cannot reach the US from their own country. Even if they developed a small arsenal and attempted to attack the US with nukes, we would respond immediately by obliterating them. No gain for them. So why concern ourselves about the threat?

Their employment of nuclear weapons would be to engage in asymmetric warfare. Asymmetric warfare is conflict between combatants whose military power, strategy or tactics differ significantly. Using a nuclear air burst of one, two or three warheads placed very high over the US, an unknown attacker could destroy the US electrical power grid and all electricity-dependent appliances, devices, vehicles, communications — anything relying on computers. The unknown assailant could launch clandestinely from an ocean-going barge or freighter placing them within easy reach of the US. Within one second of detonation nothing electrical would work.

No refrigeration. No transportation. No communication. No plumbing. No electricity at all. Every modern electrical device would be disabled or destroyed. As the main character of Forstchen’s book points out, 21^st century America is not prepared to live under 19^th century conditions. 

Electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, is the byproduct of a nuclear detonation. It vaguely resembles a bolt of lightning striking an electrical line during a thunder storm. Every electrical circuit in a house and anything connected to that circuit would be destroyed. Unlike a lightning strike, however, EMP is amplified by the earth’s magnetic field through the detonation of a high altitude nuke. Computers, cell phones and other devices using microcircuitry would be fried.

EMP was first recognized in the 1940s and 1950s during tests of nuclear weapons. At that time electrical circuitry still used vacuum tubes for the most part and was not susceptible to EMP. Solid state circuitry, however, was easily destroyed.

When a nuclear weapon is set off in space, electrical disturbances on earth are magnified several times much like a pebble dropped in water. Concentric rings move outward in ever increasing circles. It has been reported that the Chinese have conducted extensive research to determine how to boost the effect of EMP.

In his book, Forstchen elaborates on the “die-off” sequences resulting in a 90% reduction in the US population in the first year. The deaths are not a direct result of a nuclear detonation but of the secondary and tertiary effects from EMP. Americans have lived in an environment of hygiene, sterilization and antibiotics making them highly susceptible to disease once precautions are removed. Without antibiotics, adequate hygiene and good nutrition large numbers of people would die from common injuries and infection. A rough sequence of deaths would include:

-- Those in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the first week;

-- Those contracting salmonella, cholera and typhoid fever from ingesting tainted food and water in the first two weeks;

-- Drug-dependent patients die off in the next thirty to sixty days;

-- Battles over scarce food and drugs would contribute directly or indirectly to death;

-- Improper use of wood burning stoves lead to deaths by carbon monoxide and fire;

-- Violence related deaths from gangs and escaped prisoners add to the death toll; 

-- Communities slowly starve during the winter. The elderly starve first. Parents starve themselves to feed their kids. Then the kids starve;

-- Throughout the entire period the suicide rate would skyrocket. 

In the end, 10% of the population survives. The highest death rates (95%) would be in major cities. The lowest death rates (50%) would be in the food-rich Midwest.

It is very conceivable that two to three nuclear air bursts in space over the US could essentially take down the power grid and entire communications system of the United States. After that, an opponent could leisurely orchestrate further attacks. 

There is very good reason to halt Iran’s and North Korea’s nuclear program and missile development. The United States should be focusing intently on hardening against an EMP attack. Forget the global warming malarkey.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).