High Frontier l Well Known Things That Ain’t True!

“It isn’t what we don’t know that gives us trouble, it’s what we know that ain’t so.” … Will Rogers

Dr. Peter Vincent Pry and I were fortunate that last Friday’s Wall Street Journal carried our article entitled, “The Threat to Melt the Electric Grid.” While little that we wrote (Click here) will be news to our regular readers, I was most impressed by the range of nearly 300 comments on the Journal’s webpage over the weekend, which you can read by clicking here if you subscribe to the web version of the Journal.

Many were from well informed supportive readers, but some displayed a wide misunderstanding of the nature of the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) threat and what can be done about it. Of greatest concern to me were those normally well informed readers of the Journal who were so badly mistaken about some very key facts important to moving the “powers that be” to counter this existential threat.

Hence, responding to several of the most important misunderstandings is the subject of this morning’s email message, and providing references to back-up our claims.

First, some questioned our motives—reflecting thoughts that perhaps Peter and I are spokesmen for and lobbying for industrial interests that would gain from government spending to rectify the Grid’s vulnerabilities. So let me set this aside.

High Frontier receives no funding from government or industrial sources—we survive on the basis of private donations, and my personal efforts are primarily pro bono. Peter’s long and tireless advocacy has been critically important in getting a serious recognition of the problem and encouraging both national and state leaders to deal with the EMP theat. It has cost him dearly personally and is largely unfunded. We and a number of our colleagues are devoting our time to this effort because we are concerned about the world we are leaving to our kids and grandkids. (I am 78 and would like to live to see something done about this urgent problem in this life.)

Second, there were questions about our credentials and suggestions that we might not know whereof we speak.

For my part, I have been involved in nuclear weapons effects R&D and working to assure the survivability of our military systems since the mid-1960s—and at one point oversaw all the U.S. Air Force programs dedicated to hardening our strategic systems and their command, control and communications systems to assure the President could respond to a Soviet surprise attack, including with the high altitude EMP attack component that we now know was part of their plan.

I also was the Pentagon’s acquisition executive for the nation’s ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems—and on my watch made sure the Pentagon’s independent efforts to harden our BMD systems to EMP were well funded. I transferred a major portion of my Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) budget to the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) to assure that an independent technical capability and authority was scrutinizing our hardening efforts.

Peter became concerned about these issues many years ago when he was a CIA analyst and later as a Professional Staff member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). Because of these concerns, he personally worked to promote the institution the EMP Commission, to which he also provided key staff support. He is probably the nation’s most knowledgeable expert on intelligence, policy and technical matters across the board, and is committed at great personal expense to continue to press all who will listen to the Commission’s so far unexecuted recommendations.

Click here for Peter’s well-formed elaboration, yesterday on Fox News, of the issues highlighted in our Journal article. But let me return to emphasizing, as did Peter, in his interview the critical importance of the EMP Commission.

This congressionally instituted EMP Commission was made up of a number of knowledgeable experts, including one of the very few still living nuclear weapon designers who actually witnessed his designs being tested. He also was the third ranking Pentagon official in the late 1960s responsible for the R&D, acquisition and nuclear survivability of all our military systems, many of which are still deployed. He also has chaired the Defense Science Board, has been a member of numerous national scientific and policy panels and remains knowledgeable and active in related activities today. Another member was a former National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Director and Acquisition Executive of all Air Force and most other command, control and communications systems essential to operating the nation’s strategic systems. And I could go on listing the credentials of this important Commission chaired by President Reagan’s Science Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and NASA Administrator. Click here to review the credentials of the Commission as well as their important 2004 and 2008 reports.

The 2008 Commission report is the best authoritative source for technical information that some of the Journal’s commenters suggest are not well understood. Prior to 2008, there was very little public knowledge on EMP, because it became a highly classified subject when in the early 1960s we discovered our key strategic systems were vulnerable to a High Altitude EMP (HEMP) attack. And even though there have now been nearly a dozen additional well-qualified independent studies that endorse the Commission’s findings, many are apparently still ignorant of the existential threat to the American public.

As I wrote in my April 14^th message—and we emphasized in our Wall Street Journal commentary, the Pentagon continues to pay attention to the EMP threat to our strategic systems—but few appear yet to be awake on the EMP threat to the survival of the American population. Having the Journal’s readers better understand this concerns would be most important.

In addition to the above general reaction, the following “pseudo” dialog illustrates a few of the most important misunderstandings in the Comments to our article—and my brief reactions:

EMP is not a problem because very large yield nuclear weapons (some mentioned up to 25 megatons yield) or a large number of lower yield nuclear weapons are required to produce existential threat.
- Fact…Even a low yield nuclear weapon can be designed to produce significant EMP effects to all within a line-of-sight to the burst. Special designs, similar to that demonstrated in the 1970s for the so-called “neutron bomb,” but designed to maximize the production of gamma rays that interact with the earth’s geomagnetic field, can produce wide-ranging effects. These effects are well understood not only by U.S. scientists and engineers, but also those of Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and others; no doubt including terrorists.
- Fact…Both North Korea and Iran have launched satellites that approach the U.S. from over the south polar regions. These satellites have a payload ability to carry a nuclear weapon and detonate it at a hundred or so miles altitude which would create “line-of-sight” EMP effects over the entire continental U.S. If over the Eastern Interconnect, this could shut down the bulk of the nation’s electricity. If over Omaha, it could shut down essentially all of the entire American continent’s electricity.
- Fact…Our missile defense systems are focused on shooting down intercontinental ballistic missiles that approach the U.S. from over the north polar regions. If approaching the U.S. from over the south polar regions, a rogue state threat could avoid these defenses during its satellite’s first passage over the U.S. when the HEMP attack could plausibly occur.
It makes more sense for terrorists/rogue states to attack a city rather than to rely on an esoteric effect like HEMP.
- Fact…The HEMP threat is widely known and simpler for those who wish us ill to execute because no reentry of the earth’s atmosphere is required. No hardened reentry vehicle (a challenging technical feat) is required, as would be needed if an atmospheric detonation were sought to attack a city as some “Journal commenters” thought would be preferred to a HEMP attack.
- Fact…But a HEMP attack option is available to North Korea and Iran today—and can be executed as soon as they get usable nuclear weapons. North Korea already has a number—and Vice President Joe Biden just admitted that Iran could have 8-or-9 within 2-3 months. He was arguing that therefore we need a “deal” with Iran to extend that timeline to a year. Wishful thinking, I believe; and I hope that congress will not go along with a deal that clearly is not in our interest, as argued in my last message.
- Fact…Bottom line: Both “rogue nations” soon will have an HEMP strike capability if they don’t already. Whether they will exercise it is the question. “Will” not “capability” is or will be the issue.
We can deter these threats, just as we deterred the Soviet Union during the Cold War, by threatening to retaliate with our own nuclear weapons to destroy the rogue leader. This sure knowledge would deter him from attacking us in the first place.
- Fact…Maybe for North Korea, if we think the great leader is rational. But dubious for the Iranian Mullahs who are dedicated to destroying the “Great Satan” America (as well as “Little Satan” Israel) and may be willing to accept the costs in hastening the return of the Mahdi that is part of their “End Times” belief framework.
- Fact…Either nation could use surrogates to attack the U.S.—e.g., by sending nuclear weapons on ships to attack us by launching the EMP attack from off our coasts—and we might not be able to trace the source of that threat back to their sponsors.
- Fact…We are not well prepared for this attack possibility. Our Aegis BMD ships can counter the off-the-coast threat along the Eastern Seaboard—if their crews train and operate to do so. But they do not operate in the Gulf of Mexico—from which we are quite vulnerable to such an attack strategy.
We should give priority to countering the threats to direct attack on our cities from off our coasts—blowing away a city would be a disaster.
- Fact…Indeed—and “blowing away” our nation with an EMP attack would be worse. We need to defend against both possibilities.
Solar threats are more important. Manmade threats are improbable.
- Fact…We need to prepare for both. If we harden for the nuclear EMP threat, then we also will take care of the natural EMP threat because the long-wavelength component is approximately the same for both. But the nuclear EMP threat also includes a severe short wavelength component, not a part of the natural EMP threat, and that short wavelength component also could cause severe damage especially to unprotected solid state electronics and computers.
- Fact…BMD systems can protect us against a nuclear EMP attack that is most threatening to the entire electric grid, but contribute nothing to protecting against the natural (solar) EMP threat. Even so, no defense is perfect and hardening the grid against both long- and short-wavelength EMP effects is prudent in any case.
That hardening the grid would be very costly is why nothing is being done.
- Fact…This ruse is used by the electric power industry’s lobbying efforts because they want to avoid government invovement in dealing with the problem. But the costs of not dealing with the issues would lead to an economic impact costing many trillions of dollars—not to mention a major loss of life. Credible estimates are that most Americans would perish within a year after a nationwide EMP event that takes us back to the 19^th century without the then existent agrarian society. The loss of our just-in-time economy would lead to societal collapse making the events after major hurricanes look like child’s play. The cost of hardening the grid—to operate through both natural and manmade EMP events—and of defending against manmade threats from the south are trivial in comparison.
- Fact…these industry lobbying efforts have stalled any congressional efforts to require that the electric grid be able to operate through an EMP event. We are now in the fourth congress in which those who understand the threat are seeking legislation to counter EMP effects. Maybe they will be successful this time????
These issues are being addressed by the “powers that be,” so this is much ado about nothing.
- Fact…This is perhaps the most troubling misperception. It is hard to imagine that the Federal Government is not addressing this issue as a national priority. But it is not. As indicated by our Journal article, the Pentagon in fact is dealing with EMP issues—to assure key military systems can survive and operate through and after an EMP attack. But the Pentagon is not addressing how to protect the American people against the existential EMP threat, and their entire survival is at stake. The irony is that without the grid we lose the Republic they are sworn to protect. Furthermore, without the nation’s electric grid, most of our military bases and facilities in the United States cannot function.
- Fact…This job should be the top job of the Department of Homeland Security, but DHS does not even include the EMP threat among its planning threat scenarios that all government homeland security efforts are supposed to be designing their systems and operations against.

This sad state of affairs is why we advocate taking our message directly to the American people—and urging them to inform themselves and take local and state initiatives to deal with all the threats to their portions of electric grid. And progress is being made in a number of states. When Washington authorities feel the heat from home, perhaps then Washington authorities will act responsibly.

In this regard, I urge you to watch this Youtube video of Judge Jeanine Pirro’s interview of Texas State Senator Bob Hall, who is sponsoring legislation in the Lone Star State to deal with the issue. Not only does Senator Hall deal effectively with the critical issues mentioned above, his and the Judge’s discussion is quite revealing of the underlying problem of the electric power industry’s lobbying, which is undercutting everyone efforts to counter the existential threat.

And their discussion illustrates how our Texan friends, with their own “Texas Interconnection,” can lead those in charge of the Eastern and Western Interconnections to do their job.

As I wrote last week … “We live in interesting times” … whether a Chinese curse or not. Stay tuned.

Near Term High Frontier Plans.

While watching Texas and other states with more than a little interest in their initiatives, we will continue working with South Carolina folks to build a coalition to engage constructively with private citizens and their local and state representatives and other authorities to work with the SC National Guard in understanding and responding to this serious threat. We will expand this effort to neighboring and other states. We expect support from Cong. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) whose district includes my SC farm—who is a member of the Congressional EMP Caucus seeking legislation to counter the EMP threat.Near Term High Frontier Plans.

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 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.

Encourage them to review our past email messages, posted on www.highfrontier.org, to learn about many details related to the existential manmade and natural EMP threats and how we can protect America against them. I hope you will help us with our urgently needed efforts, which I will be discussing in future messages. Click here to make your tax deductible gift. If you prefer to mail a check, Please send it to 500 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.

E-Mail Message 150505