North Korea’s state news agency KCNA News for the first time reported on Sunday that the “explosive power” of the hydrogen bomb was “adjustable from ten kilotons to hundreds kiloton [sic.];” and that the weapon was described as “a multi-functional thermonuclear nuke … which can be detonated even at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP [electromagnetic pulse] attack according to strategic goals.” Read Full Story
An old adage is that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Hopefully, that adage is true and can illustrate an apparent existential threat to all Americans that North Korea already poses. It is not a new threat — North Korea years ago demonstrated its inherent capability to deliver that threat, once it gains sufficient nuclear weapons. Now we know Kim Jong Un has the nuclear weapons to execute that existential threat with plenty left over, even while our preparations to counter it seem minimal. We should urgently correct this mistaken set of priorities! Read Full Story
Yesterday’s eclipse captured major attention across America as those in its direct pathway saw nighttime in the middle of a hot summer’s day. It was the first time in nearly a century for an eclipse over the entire nation. There is an even rarer and most unpleasant solar event that last occurred in 1859, almost happened again in 2012, and will certainly happen again in the future—possibly in the near future. We are unprepared and courting a disaster when it does occur. Read Full Story
The past couple of weeks, I joined several other contributors to The Hill, which delivers the daily news focused on the interest of Capitol Hill, to discuss the implications of North Korea entering the ranks of deliverable nuclear weapons by ballistic missiles, particularly intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that can reach cities in the Continental United States. If you visit congressional offices as well as many other offices around Washington, you will find this daily newspaper on their coffee tables. Given several recent The Hill articles, there’s no excuse for our Senators and Representatives not to understand the threat that is here now. Read Full Story
Critical national infrastructure protection “will require public-private cooperation and partnerships – that, in fact, the electric industry must in the future end their efforts to avoid, misrepresent, dismiss, and minimize EMP and its potential existential national consequences, and play a large role in EMP protection, as must several Departments of the government that have to date also avoided addressing EMP intelligently and effectively, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Energy, and begin drawing on the knowledge and experience held within the Department of Defense and the EMP Commission.”… Dr. William R. Graham, Chairman of the EMP Commission Read Full Story
Yesterday, Retired Marine General and now former Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly was sworn in as the White House Chief of Staff, hopefully to demonstrate his well-deserved reputation of bringing order out of chaos to help greater success for President Trump’s agenda. Among his many agenda items, we hope they will address the government’s dysfunctional efforts to deal with the existential electromagnetic pulse (EMP) threat now confronting the nation. Read Full Story
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Read Full Story
“An imaging satellite and 72 micro-satellites were launched into orbit Friday from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Russian space agency Roscosmos and research centre Glavcosmos announced. The Soyuz 2-1A rocket successfully lifted off at 0643 GMT with the satellite payload, Roscosmos said in a statement.” ~Agence France Presse, July 14, 2017 Read Full Story
“Certainly, we do not want for things to get to a military conflict . . .” but if North Korean leaders “elevate the threat of their weapons program to a level that we believe requires action, that option [a military response] is on the table.” ~Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Reuters, March 17, 2017 Read Full Story
Conventional wisdom has held that it will be years before North Korea can threaten the United States with a nuclear attack. That judgement is quite wrong as illustrated in yesterday’s early morning hours when North Korea conducted its 13th ballistic missile test this year — this time on a lofted trajectory that, if straightened out, some experts claim could reach Alaska. Actually the threat is even much greater and more eminent than that. Read Full Story
We will be adding key policy briefs as we progress.