A new warning from the White House has underscored the fragility of our society. As the Trump administration cautions, an EMP attack could easily take down the United States in a single shot. As such, Trump has now issued a presidential EMP order, with the aim of protecting vital infrastructure from total destruction. EMP, or electromagnetic pulse, attacks have been a known threat to the United States for decades. In spite of this, little has been done to insulate the nation's most vulnerable and necessary structures -- like power grids -- from being destroyed by such an event.
As The Hill reports, the Congressional EMP Commission has been discussing EMPs as a major threat to the United Since since the Cold War.
Now, President Trump has issued an executive order to get the ball of national preparedness rolling. Under this new directive, key recommendations of the Congressional EMP Commission will finally see the light of day. The White House reportedly plans on having a "comprehensive strategy on EMPs" ready within the next 12 months.
Trump issues executive order on EMPs
While EMPs have been on the federal government's radar for at least 20 years, it is only now that we see that risk being taken seriously. As The Hill contends, federal agencies have failed to adequately acknowledge and prepare for a potential EMP threat.
Trump's order directs the secretaries from the Energy and Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security to "develop a plan to mitigate the effects of EMPs on the vulnerable priority-critical infrastructures." DHS and Energy are also being directed to work with other federal agencies and the private sector to make this plan.
The Hill contends that one of the defining features of Trump's EMP order is a new requirement -- which will ensure critical areas of the nation's infrastructure are tested via EMP simulators, allowing for vulnerabilities to be assessed.
As reported:
The president’s order recognizes that an EMP attack, in adversary military doctrine and planning, is a dimension of cyber warfare. Worst-case cyber attack scenarios that could kill millions of Americans — by, for example, causing a protracted blackout of electric grids through cyber-induced over-voltages, or by manipulating controls to destroy transformers — can be addressed by many of the protective measures long recommended by the Congressional EMP Commission.
Trump's plan to safeguard the U.S. against EMP attacks has been met with both praise and scrutiny. Unsurprisingly, a number of leftist publications have derided the very notion that EMPs are an actual threat -- with some even trying to insinuate they are nothing more than a conspiracy theory.
The threat of EMPs
The mainstream media really enjoys poking fun at preppers (and anyone else who enjoys being self-sufficient, really), but we all know how that story ends. One of these days, preppers aren't going to be the "crazy people" -- they're going to be the people who survive.
The EMP Commission has been warning about the threat of EMPs for decades. In 2014, a panel of experts testified before Congress and concurred that an EMP attack could potentially wipe out over 90 percent of the nation's population.
"Some would say it's low probability, but the damage that could be caused in the event of an EMP attack, both by the sun, a solar event, or a man-made attack, would be catastrophic," commented Rep. Michael McCaul, R-TX.
In 2017, the EMP Commission Chairman confirmed that an EMP attack would cause grievous harm to the population.
While skeptics may say that the probability of an attack is "low," the fact remains that the harm an EMP attack will cause is quite high.
Learn more about EMP attacks and how to survive one at EMP.news.
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