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GAO Report: US Still Not Prepared for Possible EMP Attack
Cybercast News Service ^ | May 3, 2016 | 4:20 PM EDT | Barbara Hollingsworth

Posted on 05/04/2016 5:50:02 AM PDT by Olog-hai

Two weeks after North Korea threatened to launch nuclear strikes against the U.S., the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that the federal government has still not implemented all of the recommendations made eight years ago to prevent catastrophic blackouts caused by an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack.

The recommendations were made in 2008 by the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electro-Magnetic Pulse Attack (EMP Commission).

Although the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have taken actions to prepare against an EMP attack, they “have not established a coordinated approach to identifying and implementing key risk management activities to address EMP risks,” concluded a March 24 GAO report. …

(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: axisofevil; electricgrid; emp; empcommission; gao; iran; northkorea; obama; powergrid; redchina; rop
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1 posted on 05/04/2016 5:50:02 AM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai
GAO Report: US Still Not Prepared for Possible EMP Attack

Nor will it ever be. There is no way to harden the entire nationwide power grid against EMP.

Every single car built after 1985 will also be killed by an EMP. Every smart phone, every cell tower, etc.

Enough of the military is hardened to ensure a retaliatory strike, thereby ending the world.

So relax and learn to love the Bomb.

2 posted on 05/04/2016 5:55:56 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: Yo-Yo

This is the one thing that terrifies me. The damage these weapons would do to our nation is staggering and it is equally staggering to me that there

Are so many people who don’t even know what an EMP is or what it would

do to our way of life.


3 posted on 05/04/2016 5:58:43 AM PDT by hillarys cankles
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To: Yo-Yo
There is no way to harden the entire nationwide power grid against EMP.

The grid will be mostly ok. The long lines that induce currents and blow out transformers in a solar storm (ultra low frequency) are not affected by very high frequencies in an EMP attack. As you said, it is the semiconductors and very short pieces of wire that pick up EMP and create destructive currents. Conversely the electronics will not be affect by a solar storm unless they happen to be connected to a long line without surge protection but that is rare.

4 posted on 05/04/2016 6:02:46 AM PDT by palmer (Net "neutrality" = Obama turning the internet over to foreign enemies)
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To: Yo-Yo

Ford diesel pickups are EMP proof through 1994 - they have an all-mechanical injection system. There are other cars that soldiered on into the 90s that can also still run after an EMP, and there are some later vehicles that (by accident) ended up with sufficient shielding for their systems.

Even then, a number of later cars can be prepared for post-EMP operations by getting a few select parts and storing them in an EMP proof container. Of course, having these spares on hand isn’t a bad idea anyway if you want to keep your car, so it’s not just an EMP precaution. :P


5 posted on 05/04/2016 6:03:49 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: Yo-Yo

Of course, the Obama admin prefers social spending over anything related to keeping the country safe. Imagine what even a fraction of the $10 trillion he blew on that could have done; even more so if the private sector were unburdened. Not impossible; just not according to the imperial president’s will.


6 posted on 05/04/2016 6:06:15 AM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Spktyr
Ford diesel pickups are EMP proof through 1994 - they have an all-mechanical injection system.

I wouldn't bet the farm on Ford diesel pickups. If it has OBD it is susceptible no matter if it is mechanical or electronic injection.

7 posted on 05/04/2016 6:15:43 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: Olog-hai

First: you must acknowledge a threat.

Lotsa luck on that one.............


8 posted on 05/04/2016 6:30:13 AM PDT by Flintlock (The ballot box STOLEN, our soapbox taken away--the BULLET BOX is left to us.)
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To: Yo-Yo

The IDI engined trucks don’t have OBD at all. There are zero electronic controls on the IDI diesels and once started you can actually remove the battery and disconnect the alternator entirely. Ford diesels didn’t get engine OBD until the 94.5 model year trucks and the PowerStroke 7.3L engine.


9 posted on 05/04/2016 6:32:36 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: Olog-hai
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10 posted on 05/04/2016 6:49:42 AM PDT by b4its2late (A Liberal is a person who will give away everything he doesn't own.)
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To: hillarys cankles
Doesn't have to come from an EMP either. The sun can do us in in one burst....

The #1 Risk To Earth

11 posted on 05/04/2016 6:54:27 AM PDT by b4its2late (A Liberal is a person who will give away everything he doesn't own.)
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To: Yo-Yo

It IS possible to stockpile the transformers and such, that currently have a 6 month lead time, not to mention installation time.

EMPs come in many shapes, sizes, and flavors.

Just because we can’t do everything is no excuse for doing nothing.

The above would cost about $2B, to implement, vs. near destruction of America.


12 posted on 05/04/2016 7:25:56 AM PDT by G Larry (ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS impose SLAVE WAGES on LEGAL Immigrants.)
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To: Olog-hai

Paging Bill Forstchen and his great book “One Second After.”


13 posted on 05/04/2016 7:29:55 AM PDT by LS ("Castles Made of Sand, Fall in the Sea . . . Eventually" (Hendrix))
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To: Olog-hai

“”the recommendations made eight years ago to prevent catastrophic blackouts caused by an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. “”

My gosh - these are government employees. We don’t expect perfection or fast action - on ANYTHING!


14 posted on 05/04/2016 7:35:26 AM PDT by Thank You Rush
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To: Yo-Yo

OMG! Families will have to TALK at the dinner table.


15 posted on 05/04/2016 7:35:52 AM PDT by GingisK
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To: LS

“”Paging Bill Forstchen and his great book “One Second After.””

Don’t forget Newt. Pretty scary stuff. I’ve always had that scenario in the back of my mind...Hard to forget for sure. Keeping our fingers crossed isn’t going to get the job done and that appears to be what DC is doing...


16 posted on 05/04/2016 7:37:13 AM PDT by Thank You Rush
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To: Olog-hai

Dr. Forschten and Fmr. Speaker Newt Gingrich have been talking about this since 1994, but nobody in the Federal government, or even state government, is interested. When the lights go out, though, the elite will take care of their own. The rest of us will die off at a rate of up to 90% in the first two years.


17 posted on 05/04/2016 7:50:51 AM PDT by backwoods-engineer (AMERICA IS DONE! When can we start over?)
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To: Yo-Yo
Every single car built after 1985 will also be killed by an EMP. Every smart phone, every cell tower, etc.

This simply is not true. Many cars will stall on the E1 pulse, but will run again after the EMP is over. Most non-grid-connected electronics will probably survive the E1 pulse, especially if they have internal shielding of some kind, and are not connected to long leads that act as an antenna.

On the other hand, almost everything connected to the power grid, including the transformers and generators, will be wiped out by the mighty E3 geomagnetic pulse resulting from a high-atmosphere nuclear EMP.

I know the science behind this, having actually designed satellite computers and imaging systems that had to withstand nuclear EMP.

18 posted on 05/04/2016 7:54:19 AM PDT by backwoods-engineer (AMERICA IS DONE! When can we start over?)
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To: b4its2late

“Doesn’t have to come from an EMP either. The sun can do us in in one burst....”

This is a common and prevailing misconception.

EMP = A high-energy gamma ray burst which can be shielded against by sufficient layers of metal and or earth.

Solar flare = surge of charged particles which can be shielded against by sufficient grounding and automatic circuit breakers.

The first is microwave energy. The second is beta particles expelled by the sun.


19 posted on 05/04/2016 7:59:41 AM PDT by Justa
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To: backwoods-engineer

This is a major problem facing us. It is one reason Newt would make a good VP - too few people are concerned with this issue.


20 posted on 05/04/2016 8:03:30 AM PDT by Dante3
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