Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from EMP Attack

Many of us are aware of the threat of an EMP attack and have a general knowledge of how bad that can be. The "Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack" is precise and I think it should be read by anyone genuinely interested in finding out what to expect from such an attack.

It´s the duty of said Commission to assess the following:

1) the nature and magnitude of potential high-altitude EMP threats to the United States from all potentially hostile states or non-state actors that have or could acquire nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles enabling them to perform a high-altitude EMP attack against the United States within the next 15 years;

2) the vulnerability of United States military and especially civilian systems to an EMP attack, giving special attention to vulnerability of the civilian infrastructure as a matter of emergency preparedness;

3) the capability of the United States to repair and recover from damage inflicted on United States military and civilian systems by an EMP attack; and

4) the feasibility and cost of hardening select military and civilian systems against EMP attack.

I will quote below some of the conclusions reached by the Commission and after that I will link you to the report:

"The physical and social fabric of the United States is sustained by a system of systems; a complex and dynamic network of interlocking and interdependent infrastructures (“critical national infrastructures”)"

"The electromagnetic pulse generated by a high altitude nuclear explosion is one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences. The increasingly pervasive use of electronics of all forms represents the greatest source of vulnerability to attack by EMP. Electronics are used to control, communicate, compute, store, manage, and implement nearly every aspect of United States (U.S.) civilian systems."

"The time required for full recovery of service would depend on both the disruption and damage to the electrical power infrastructure and to other national infrastructures. Larger affected areas and stronger EMP field strengths will prolong the time to recover. Some critical electrical power infrastructure components are no longer manufactured in the United States, and their acquisition ordinarily requires up to a year of lead time in routine circumstances. Damage to or loss of these components could leave significant parts of the electrical infrastructure out of service for periods measured in months to a year or more."

"Electrical power is necessary to support other critical infrastructures, including supply and distribution of water, food, fuel, communications, transport, financial transactions, emergency services, government services, and all other infrastructures supporting the national economy and welfare. Should significant parts of the electrical power infrastructure be lost for any substantial period of time, the Commission believes that the consequences are likely to be catastrophic, and many people may ultimately die for lack of the basic elements necessary to sustain life in dense urban and suburban communities."

Here is a link to the report(It´s a 7mb pdf file):

Critical National Infrastructures Report(april 2008)

And here is the website of the Commission:

www.empcommission.org...


PS: I have searched ATS for "EMP REPORT" and I have only found threads pointing to news websites. None actually pointed to the report, per se. In one of the threads someone has posted a 2004 Executive Report(500kb in size), but that was only the first step of the Comission before releasing in April 2008 a Critical National Infrastructure report which can be found in High resolution(53mb) or normal resolution(7mb).

[edit on 3-1-2010 by henriquefd]

I'm right there with you. Spread the word of one of the most "probable" and "detrimental" threats of our time.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

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I agree. An EMP attack on our soil would be catastrophic. Although all of the money the spent to put this committee together and produce thier report could have just summed it up in one sentence...we are not prepared.

reply to post by djvexd


Yup. But the report doesnt just say that. For every problem they point out a solution as well.

I've seen many of these articles over the EMP threat, and we aren't prepared. It would take decades to get our infrastructure to the level it was at the time of the pulse. While the rest of the world has moved on during that time. We would be less than a third world country, we would be a fourth world with pockets of energy and power that was protected and/or was brought in to the country. And while this is going on we would be split into possibly 4 to 6 different countries because the Fed isn't helping so many of these groups will petition to be their own country and go it alone.

reply to post by henriquefd


In a way it does say that otherwise we wouldn't be having to conduct a comprehensive report on EMP , which we have known was a threat since the 60's. While the report outlines how it would effect critical infrastructure elements, it overlooks the massive loss of life which is quite possible and very probable. Most cars nowadays rely heavily on electronics including throttle, steering etc. How many would be killed if the suddenly lost control of thier vehciles on the roads and highways across America. Then we move on to commercial airline flights, the thousands of flights crisscrossing this nation at any given time. Alot of the more recent aircraft utilize fly-by wire systems as well as "glass cockpits". Then also the casualties on the ground. Infrastructure systems can be rebuilt. Human life can't. But the report doesn't even touch that topic. It is almost as if they accept there will be a large loss of life.

[edit on 4-1-2010 by djvexd]