Appetizer

In its executive report, the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse warns, "Electronics are used to control, communicate, compute, store, manage, and implement nearly every aspect of United States (U.S.) civilian systems." An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), released from a detonated nuclear weapon in the atmosphere, could temporarily disable nearly all electrical systems in a geographic area larger than the United States.

EMP attacks are particularly dangerous because the weapons necessary for them are relatively easy to obtain, hard to track, and could have devastating effect on the entire country. Given that terrorist groups and nations in developing countries are less dependent on technology than the United States, the idea of an EMP attack might be particularly attractive to rogue states such as North Korea and Iran.

In addition to the threat from rogue states, China and Russia have been building up their EMP programs. Some experts postulate that this renewed effort could prompt another arms race. Recent political tensions between the US and these countries have only increased these worries, as has the very recent cyber attack on official government websites (2009), the origins of which are still unknown.

Despite warnings from both the Space Commission in 2001 and the EMP Commission as late as 2008, little has been done since the collapse of the Soviet Union to defend the United States against an EMP attack.