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EMP: The Greatest Threat to America, and What We Can Do about It
American Thinker ^ | September 27, 2011 | JanSuzanne Krasner

Posted on 09/29/2011 1:21:40 PM PDT by george76

It's bewildering. Pathetic. Frightening. And it seems that the mainstream media avoids talking about it for fear that Americans will panic. Well, Americans ought to be panicking -- anything to get them to bang on Congress's door and force our representatives to immediately act on the pending legislature now in Congress called the SHIELD Act -- a bill based on the previous HR 5026 -- that unanimously passed in the House of Representatives on June 9, 2010.

The disaster I am referring to is an electromagnetic pulse (EMP), which can easily be caused either by Mother Nature as a geomagnetic solar storm or by an enemy with a low-cost, short range, ship-launched missile armed with a nuclear warhead. The national consequences of an EMP destroying our electrical grid are far-reaching, with long-lasting, continent-wide crippling effects to our electricity-dependant infrastructure.

At the press conference organized by EMPactAmerica on September 23, 2011, this dangerous threat to our national security was exposed for what it truly is -- the most likely event to happen to the U.S., naturally or man-made, that has the potential to bring the country to its knees.

The National Academy of Science points out that protecting the grid against this threat is critical, and getting a bill passed is necessary to do that. An EMP, if not deflected, will shut down and paralyze our country. Just think about the role electricity plays in water, food, heating and cooling, communications, transportation, distribution, the economy and banking.

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


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: electromagnetic; emp; pulse
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To: palmer

low-cost, short range, ship-launched missile armed with a nuclear warhead.


I think Costco has both of those on sale this week.

I think they are in the next isle over from the LED flash lights?


21 posted on 09/29/2011 1:52:46 PM PDT by Leep
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To: CodeToad

ping to another of the periodic EMP articles.


22 posted on 09/29/2011 1:53:20 PM PDT by DBrow
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To: george76; Berlin_Freeper; Hotlanta Mike; Silentgypsy; repubmom; HANG THE EXPENSE; Nepeta; ...
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

the grave threat of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) in America is not being talked about

Article, # 4 , and graphic at # 5.

Thanks, george76. Wasn't there a recent article about Iran's ship near the Eastern U.S.?

23 posted on 09/29/2011 1:57:36 PM PDT by LucyT (If the Grid goes down, it All goes down.)
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To: george76

is this possibly being used as a ruse to cram thru “smart grid” technology that will allow them to control your electric use from a central location?


24 posted on 09/29/2011 1:58:04 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: george76
I keep "survival" books in print. Knowledge about a lot of things trumps a blank stare following "A Day After" event.

The "Foxfire" series is priceless. I have a lot of "back to basics" books.

25 posted on 09/29/2011 2:00:14 PM PDT by GingisK
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To: Roklok
Buy an old car...

An old car is just the tip of the iceberg in order to be prepped for a One Second After scenario.

26 posted on 09/29/2011 2:01:29 PM PDT by AngryJawa (Obama's Success is America's Failure)
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To: rightwingextremist1776

MaMood I’manutjob has the ultimate suicide terrorist attack in mind perhaps? He is more than willing to sacrifice the people of Iran in order to serve his bllod-lusting devil god.


27 posted on 09/29/2011 2:02:50 PM PDT by MHGinTN (Some, believing they can't be deceived, it's nigh impossible to convince them when they're deceived.)
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To: rightwingextremist1776
No...an EMP strike against us would be cause for a devastating nuke strike....think cold war type strike.

Retaliation is no deterrent to a culture bent on suicide, they wish for it.

28 posted on 09/29/2011 2:04:35 PM PDT by itsahoot (Amazon Fire--Apple is doomed. In other news, Timex will kill Rolex-News at 11:00)
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To: discostu
Your 30 mile circle only takes out the farm belt.

Dude, the detonation doesn't have to be over Kansas. The laws of physics are the same 30 miles above Philadelphia. There goes the Boston to DC megalopolis. Or one over western Ohio...that takes out St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, all of Ohio, Louisville and Pittsburgh.

Either way, much of the country is unaffected, but most of the federal structure , financial heavyweights and heavy manufacturing is toast.

Oh, and 30 miles is nothing for any nation that has successfully orbited satellites...like Iran.

29 posted on 09/29/2011 2:07:29 PM PDT by buccaneer81 (ECOMCON)
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To: LucyT
Wasn't there a recent article about Iran's ship near the Eastern U.S.?

This was one of those threads that seriously discussed possible Iran EMP threat. There may have been another.

Iran says could deploy navy near U.S. coast: report

30 posted on 09/29/2011 2:16:39 PM PDT by thouworm (.)
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To: All
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

. . . . Check out link at # 30.

Thanks, thouworm.

31 posted on 09/29/2011 2:21:43 PM PDT by LucyT (If the Grid goes down, it All goes down.)
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To: MrShoop

Just think, after Islam has demolished this nation, there won’t be any reason for anyone to obliterate us any further with an EMP because there won’t be anything worth left to destroy.


32 posted on 09/29/2011 2:21:47 PM PDT by 353FMG (Liberalism is Satan's handiwork.)
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To: buccaneer81

I didn’t say it would be centered over Kansas, the point is that your circle that you said isn’t very high IS actually quite high (needing a weather balloon or better to achieve, 30 miles is over the ozone layer) AND only gets a small fraction of the country.

Your own comment shows the problem with the article. The article says this:
by an enemy with a low-cost, short range, ship-launched missile armed with a nuclear warhead.
And you just admitted:
and 30 miles is nothing for any nation that has successfully orbited satellites...like Iran.

There’s a pretty big gap between a low cost short range ship launched missile and a satellite. Which is exactly the problem I was pointing out, all these articles try to make it sound like any doofus terrorist that can get a hold a small nuke and a good sling shot can destroy the country, and the facts show that’s 100% BS. You need a good sized nuke and a real launch platform.


33 posted on 09/29/2011 2:24:32 PM PDT by discostu (How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today)
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To: Leep; palmer; Roklok; george76; discostu; reformedliberal; buccaneer81; rightwingextremist1776
low-cost, short range, ship-launched missile armed with a nuclear warhead.

What no one has mentioned so far is that a handy individual can build a small EMP generator in their barn for a few hundred dollars. And most the materials needed are available at your local Lowes.

Granted it will only take out a few city blocks but if a terrorist chooses his target carefully he could do a huge amount of damage.

34 posted on 09/29/2011 2:29:51 PM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
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To: discostu
You need a good sized nuke and a real launch platform.

Iran has the latter and will soon have the former.

35 posted on 09/29/2011 2:32:04 PM PDT by buccaneer81 (ECOMCON)
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To: Pontiac

It really wouldn’t do that much damage. OK you fry all the computer chips in a couple of blocks and then... some car crashes, stuck elevators, suppose it gets kind of bad if there’s a hospital in that range, certainly business are inconvenienced. But really a half way decent regular bomb would do almost as much damage, plus all the blood and guts that terrorists love so much.


36 posted on 09/29/2011 2:34:59 PM PDT by discostu (How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today)
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To: george76
EMP is not our greatest national threat. Yes, it would be very damaging, but we would overcome it.

Our educational system, thoroughly dominated by Marxists from kindergarten through graduate school is our nation's **most** serious threat.

37 posted on 09/29/2011 2:35:11 PM PDT by wintertime (I am a Constitutional Restorationist!!! Yes!)
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To: buccaneer81

But the former is immaterial, and the later is still not as big a threat as the paranoids want it to be. If one high altitude burst was really that big a threat it would have become the primary nuclear strategy of both us and the USSR. It didn’t, that proves the point.


38 posted on 09/29/2011 2:36:37 PM PDT by discostu (How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today)
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To: AngryJawa
. But I also think that a much-reduced version of that damage could roll this country in just a week into the a horror show not seen since the Civil War. Civilization is a veneer that is only so thick and we *are* vulnerable as a result of our over-reliance on electronics.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The inner cities, yes, but not where I live. I am confident that our neighbors and citizens of our town and county would rally. Yes, there would be damage and many people very inconvenienced and some deaths but in no way would there be the collapse of Western Civilization. Not in this county.

39 posted on 09/29/2011 2:41:06 PM PDT by wintertime (I am a Constitutional Restorationist!!! Yes!)
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To: george76
Not to self: Find that old distributor and alternator and fill propane tanks.
40 posted on 09/29/2011 2:41:09 PM PDT by mountainlion (I am voting for Sarah after getting screwed again by the DC Thugs.)
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