October 1, 2014—Wake Up: ISIS Is Here!

Amb. Henry F. Cooper, Chairman Lt. Gen. Daniel Graham, Founder

High Frontier . . Building Truly Effective Defenses . . . Reagan’s Vision Lives!

E-Mail Message 141001

Wake Up: ISIS Is Here!

By Ambassador Henry F. Cooper

October 1, 2014

“. . . With access to technology that allows small groups to do great harm, they have embraced a nightmarish vision that would divide the world into adherents and infidels — killing as many innocent civilians as possible, employing the most brutal methods to intimidate people within their communities . . . No grievance justifies these actions. There can be no reasoning — no negotiation — with this brand of evil. The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force . . .” ~President Barak Hussein Obama

Too bad the President did not build his September 24^th address to the United Nations General Assembly (Click here.) around the above three sentences. However, sandwiched in between the first two sentences of this accurate portrayal of the threat was a misleading statement, if not a great falsehood—with major consequences that “We the people” must overcome: “Islam teaches peace.”

We Ignore True Believers in Sharia At Our Peril.

As observed in my last message (Click here.), Islam simply is not a “religion of peace” as claimed by many, ever since President George W. Bush so stated immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3000 Americans.

I am equally critical of both political parties for not dealing forthrightly with a truly existential threat to all we Americans have held dear since our founding.

Islamic “true believers” in sharia law are the enemy. They offer a choice to others: “convert, pay ransom as second class citizens, or die” . . . as their Prophet Mohammed taught. This threat is bigger than ISIS, and it is already among us.

Now, I do not consider all Muslims as the enemy—the majority probably do want peace. Furthermore, I would seek to show them Christian love, which regrettably could cost them their very lives if they accept—under the dictates of sharia.

But if only 1-percent of the estimated 1.6 billion Muslims around the world are true believers in the teachings of sharia, they amount to 16 million. Or more closely related to the subject of my message today, that same 1-percent converts to 10,000 “true believers” per million Muslims in America today—a non-negligible number that could pose a significant threat to which our leaders should pay attention.

I’ve seen estimates that there are 3 million Muslims in America—so 1-percent would amount to 30,000 true believers—probably a low estimate given that a poll indicated that approximately a third of Muslim Americans believe that sharia should be the law of the land—never mind that sharia is inconsistent with the Constitution to which they owe allegiance as U.S. citizens.

When considering the numbers, never forget what only 19 Saudi Wahhabi true believers accomplished on September 11, 2001. Perhaps a different Islamic sect than ISIS, but true believers none the less. And keep that in mind when considering the widely applauded coalition of Arab states with which we allied to fight ISIS. And don’t forget the negotiations with Iran, which has sworn to destroy the Great Satan America, and alleged U.S. concessions in exchange for them to fight ISIS. And Pakistan which sheltered Osama bin Laden for 9 years while expanding its nuclear capabilities. Etc.

Meanwhile, the President is ignoring the Kurds, who are already fighting for their freedom “with boots on the ground” and could use our help. They are being squeezed by ISIS and our erstwhile NATO ally Turkey, which so far has refused to join against ISIS—which they have in fact been supporting. Turkish President Erdogan, of course, previously purged all Turkey’s generals who previously kept Turkey as a secular democracy. Hard to tell the friends from the enemies here—remember to make sure we know the sharia true believers, who clearly are our enemies.

In any case, we should cease the political correctness of calling murderous acts obviously related to Islamic perspectives “workplace violence” and other euphemisms. Does anyone really believe that Major Nadal Hassan’s attack on his fellow soldiers at Ft. Hood was “workplace violence”—rather than an act of a true believer in sharia as Hassan openly stated? Now, almost five years later, justice has not been done.

And this week, we had a beheading in Oklahoma City of a middle aged woman—for whatever specific reason—by another “true believer.” Thankfully, Mark Vaughan, the employer’s chief operating officer and also a reserve county deputy, drew his gun and shot Alton Nolan, the “converted-to-Islam” perpetrator, before he could behead another co-worker as was his apparent intent. Just workplace violence???

Notably, Nolen’s Facebook page reportedly contains such items as a burning lower Manhattan after the 9/11 attacks and a photo of the pope with the caption “Sharia Law is coming!” Last March, Nolen posted a gruesome photo of a beheading with the explanation that “Islamic terrorists behead their victims” because of a precedent bestowed by their prophet, i.e., the Prophet Mohammed’s frequent beheadings of those he considered infidels.

And another Muslim in Oklahoma City was recently arrested because he threatened to behead a Christian co-worker because “that is just what we do.” (Click here.) This individual also referenced an affiliation with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS = ISIL = Islamic State = Caliphate).

So, at least some Islamic elements in the United States see themselves linked to a broader movement . . . the ISIS objective of a Caliphate, you think? And, of course, a commitment to the teachings of sharia.

In a broader context and as pointed out by yesterday’s Investor’s Business Daily, not all Muslims are terrorists; but virtually all terrorists are Muslim. (Click here for this article, obviously pertinent to this discussion—“Holder to Ban Religion in Terror Probes.”) And Muslims have been responsible for almost every major recent terrorist attack around the globe, including:

9/11 hijackings and attacks
1993 World Trade Center bombing
Achille Lauro cruise ship hijacking
Mumbai massacre
Beslan Russian school massacre
Kenyan shopping mall massacre
Utah Trolley Square Mall shooting
Beltway snipers shootings
USS Cole bombing
U.S. embassy bombings in Africa
Beirut Marine barracks bombings
Bali nightclub bombings
London subway bombings
Madrid train bombings
Pan-Am Flight 103 bombing
Munich Olympics massacre
Benghazi terrorism and assassination
Little Rock recruiting office shooting
Fort Hood shootings
Boston Marathon bombings

As the IBD editorial concludes, the truth is that the reign of terror plaguing the world is decidedly Islamic. We are witnessing a global jihad. And America cannot escape its reach.

The only question is, are we going to be prepared? And the regrettable truth is that we are not prepared to deal with some major threats of great consequence.

Physical Attack on the Electric Grid?

Perhaps the most troubling potential threat to our survival is the possibility that committed and well trained Islamic true believers could bring down the electric power grid, upon which our survival depends. Imagine what your life would be like without electricity.

I have written often about the vulnerability of the grid to the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that would result from a single nuclear explosion over the atmosphere. Several nations can produce that condition today—and most probably won’t because our surviving nuclear forces might retaliate and also destroy them. Jihadis, who might launch an attack from vessels off our coasts—particularly from the Gulf of Mexico, might not be so deterred. And that’s a serious problem. More for another day.

Today, I want to focus on the physical vulnerability of the electric grid—which is both understood and not being rectified, because of the failure of those sworn “to provide for the common defense.”

Last Monday’s Investor’s Business Daily published a devastating critique of this situation in an article by Thomas S. Popik and William H. Harris. (Click here.) Full disclosure: I serve with them on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Resilient Societies, which is committed to encouraging the powers that be to deal with such vitally important issues.

I urge you to read and digest the entire article aptly entitled, “Weak Security for America’s Electric Grid Makes Us Vulnerable.”

My emphasis here is on the pertinence of the April 2013 attack on the Metcalf substation near San Jose, California. Except that the attackers missed a key link to the outside world (Most were severed to isolate the substation), the attack could have indefinitely blacked out Silicon Valley and San Francisco. (Click here for a brief discussion of this important attack.) Those who carried out this attack were never identified—and another recent attack on the same substation demonstrated the inadequacy of the security measures taken in response to the April 2013 attack. The second set of attackers were not identified either.

So, such key substations are vulnerable to attack—and bad guys know it. It gets worse.

Popik and Harris also report the conclusion from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that an attack on only nine (9) critical transformer stations could bring down the entire continental electric grid for 18 months. No electricity for 18 months to support our “just-in-time” economy and the necessities of life.

Taking out only three (3) could black out California and 10 western states; another four (4) would black out the grid from the Rocky Mountains to the Eastern Seaboard. In either case, replacing the critical transformers would take months under the best of circumstances.

These and other facts reviewed by Popik and Harris are publicly known—and furthermore, it is widely known that the Washington establishment—both the Executive and Legislative Branches—is not dealing effectively with the vulnerability of the grid, the loss of which would be catastrophic.

So could ISIS-like jihadis exploit this known vulnerability and coordinate an effective attack—after figuring out which are the four (4) substations east of the Rocky Mountains would bring down the grid all the way to the Atlantic? Do you like betting our country on a wager that they can’t or won’t?

Just as a complementary teaser in considering this issue, take a look at the nuclear power plants in the schematic below—and imagine what it would be like if many, most, or all of those East of the Rockies lost electric power from the grid. Electricity is essential to cooling of the reactor and its spent fuel rods. The loss would be like tens of Fukushima reactors, each spewing radioactive clouds to be carried by the wind for substantial distances. Click here to view the current flow pattern to imagine how you might fare.

A hypothetical problem? Maybe, but maybe not. I understand we have a limited supply of fuel for the backup generators at our nuclear power plants—far too little to last for the many months of a major blackout of the grid if the key extra high voltage (EHV) transformers were lost.

And remember that ISIS or other jihadis wishing us harm are not just “over there.” Not only might they return from training overseas (including after fighting with ISIS in Iraq and Syria as reported last week) via normal transportation routes, there are ways they may illegally enter the United States through our leaky borders; and they may already be here, as discussed above.

Bottom Lines:

In view of these facts and the failure of the federal government in dealing with these issues, I wholeheartedly endorse the bottom lines implied in the last three paragraphs of the article by Popik and Harris—the local and state authorities must make up the slack:

State governments retain authority to assure the safety and reliability of their grids. Some states have already begun to act without waiting for the federal government. For example, south of Washington D.C., Virginia state police have guarded critical transformer substations.
To deter those who might attack our grid, police and National Guard troops should conduct rapid-deployment drills. At times of severe threat, government authorities must protect critical grid facilities; experience has already shown that private security is not enough. The federal government must exercise legal authority to set and enforce grid security standards for all “critical impact” facilities.
The time to protect our electric grid is now, not after the first successful attack is executed. While America dawdles, foreign adversaries study our grid and make war plans.

Near Term High Frontier Plans.

Given the lethargy in Washington, we will continue informing all who will listen, about the existential threat and expanding our work with the National Guard to help them gain knowledge and workable plans to help harden the electric power grid and counter the threat. This work will go hand in hand with efforts of State legislators who are seeking to expand on the excellent work of those in Maine and Virginia, who have passed legislation requiring serious studies of the threat and the needed countermeasures to protect the electric power grid.

The most recent bill passed in record time without a single negative vote in Virginia can be used as a ready pattern.

We are working with South Carolina National Guard to plan tabletop exercises to help them understand how best to engage constructively with private citizens and their local and state representatives and other authorities to understand and respond to this serious threat. We also are supporting related activities in neighboring and other states.

We are informing SC state legislators and senators about the threat and what can be done to deal with it—hopefully they will follow Maine and Virginia in seeking to harden the electric power grid. We also expect support from Cong. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) whose district includes my SC farm—and who is a member of the Congressional EMP Caucus seeking passage of the Shield Act and the Infrastructure Protection Act, as well as other SC representatives.

We will be working with members of the EMP Coalition and others who are seeking to take our message across the country—especially with Bob Newman, a former Adjutant General of Virginia, to help us link our SC plans more broadly and especially into Virginia and the National Capital region.

What can you do?

Join us in praying for our nation, and for a rebirth of the freedom sought, achieved and passed to us by those who came before us.

Help us to spread our message to the grass roots and to encourage all “powers that be” to provide for the common defense as they are sworn to do.

Begin by passing this message to your friends and suggest they visit our webpage, www.highfrontier.org for more information. Also, please encourage your sphere of influence to sign up for our weekly e-newsletter.

And support us with your tax deductible gifts to help enable our continuing efforts.