Star Wars in Nonfiction

Campus Report ^ | September 18, 2008 | Lance Nation

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Star Wars In Nonfiction

by: Lance Nation, September 18, 2008

Power lost . . . communication down . . . millions die from starvation . . . the United States has just been hit by an Electro-Magnetic Pulse, or EMP. This is not a new Lucas or Spielberg script, a fantasy concocted in the minds of a sci-fi junkie. “The threat of an EMP attack is serious, and the United States is increasingly vulnerable to such an attack,” stated Frank J. Gaffney Jr. during the recent Heritage Foundation seminar, The Case for Missile Defense.

“An EMP attack is produced by detonating a nuclear weapon launched by a ballistic missile. Such a detonation—occurring high above the earth—produces a massive pulse of ionized particles that could damage many electrical and information systems.” (WebMemo published by the Heritage Foundation, Sept. 15, 2008) American officials are aware that other countries possess the necessary technology for an EMP attack; yet, they do not take the necessary measures to protect against such an attack. “Twenty-five years ago we had nine countries with ballistic missiles, now there are 28,” stated Peter Brooks, the panel head and a Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

Brooks, referring to his upcoming report The Need for Missile Defense, a Hoover Institution publication, reminded the audience of the “story of the summer . . . IAEA reported that information on a Swiss laptop that was part of the [Abdul Qadeen] Khan network had nuclear weapon designs that would fit the ballistic missile designs of 12 countries. And, we don’t still know how widespread this information was throughout AQ Khan’s network.” Continuing on the threat that other nations pose to the United States, Frank Gaffney Jr., president of the Center for Security Policy discussed an important finding in William R. Graham’s commission...