Free Electromagnetic Pulse by Bobby Akart Page B

also have a trigger mechanism and electronics capable of withstanding the force of an ICBM launch, the journey into the cold vacuum of space and the heat and force of re-entering the atmosphere — and still function as designed. Designing a functional warhead takes considerable advances in several fields of science, including physics, electronics, engineering, metallurgy, and explosives technology. Overseeing it all must be a high-end quality assurance capability.
    But even if a terrorist organization were able to obtain a functional warhead and compatible fissile core, the challenges of mating the warhead to a missile that it was not designed for, and then getting it to launch and detonate properly, would be far more daunting than it would appear at first glance. Additionally, the process of fueling a liquid-fueled ballistic missile at sea and then launching it from a ship, using an improvised launcher, would also be very challenging. Experts say that North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan all rely heavily on Scud technology, which uses highly volatile, corrosive, and toxic fuels.
    Such a scenario is challenging enough, even before the uncertainty of achieving the desired HEMP effect, is taken into account. This is just the kind of complexity and uncertainty that well-trained terrorist operatives seek to avoid in an operation. A ground-level nuclear detonation in a city, such as New York or Washington, would be more likely to cause the type of terror, death, and physical destruction that is sought in a terrorist attack, than could be achieved by a non-lethal EMP. Because of this, it would be far simpler for a terrorist group looking to conduct a nuclear attack to do so using a device such as a Radio Frequency Weapon, than it would be using a sophisticated warhead.
    Make no mistake: the threat of an EMP attack is real. Modern civilization depends heavily on electronics and the electrical grid for a broad range of vital functions, and this is truer in the United States, than in most other countries. A HEMP attack or a substantial geomagnetic storm could have a dramatic impact on modern life in the affected area. However, as we've discussed, the EMP threat has been around for more than half a century. Despite the fact that there are some technical and practical variables that make a HEMP attack using a nuclear warhead highly unlikely, rogue nations are working diligently to obtain the technology. When considering the EMP threat, it is important to recognize that it exists as one of many threats, including related threats such as conventional nuclear warfare and targeted, small-scale RFW attacks. The world is a dangerous place, full of potential threats. Some things are more likely to occur than others. As a nation, there is only a limited amount of funding to monitor, harden against, try to prepare for, and manage them all. It is easy to fall into the trap of attempting to defend against everything, although the practical result is that Washington’s ineptitude will end up defending against nothing. Focused and rational prioritization of the threats we face as a nation is essential to the country’s defense.
    Hardening national infrastructure against an EMP—whether man-made or naturally occurring solar flares, is undoubtedly necessary. The country is beginning to open its eyes to the fact that there are very real weaknesses and vulnerabilities in America's critical infrastructure — not to mention in our society overall. Our political leaders must strike a delicate balance between focusing on this very real threat, and spending resources on other potential collapse events.
     

Chapter Nine
The Players
    Who is capable of carrying out the threat?
    We have now established that the nuclear EMP threat is not merely theoretical–it is a clear and present danger. A nuclear EMP attack is the perfect asymmetric weapon for state actors who wish to level the battlefield by neutralizing the great technological advantage enjoyed by the