Tampa Prep 2009-2010 Impact Defense File
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- 2. Our grid has been hardened - it will mitigate an EMP attack.
- AT: Grid Terror (Alaskan Pipeline)
AT: Grid Terror (EMP)1. The Threat of an EMP attack is conservative media hype and Iran Bashing – even the US military doesn’t have the capability yetThe Raw Story July 14, 2008 (David Edwards and Muriel Kane, “Fox: Terrorist nukes could ‘fry every electronic gizmo civilization needs to survive’”, http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Fox_ Danger_of_electromagneti c_pulse _terrorism_0714.html) Fox News has found a fresh terrorism threat to be panicked about -- the menace of electromagnetic pulses (EMP). "There is a new terror study out ... warning the US of a clear and present danger on a massive scale," anchor Bill Hemmer began. The question of whether EMP poses a threat to the United States has been a matter of debate since the 1990's. In 2001, the House Armed Services Committee established a Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack. The Commission released its initial report in 2004, concluding that a nuclear-generated EMP "has the potential to hold our society seriously at risk." The House Armed Service Committee held an update hearing last week with testimony by the chairman of the EMP Commission. Conservative Paul Weyrich also recently drew attention to that 2004 report, writing, "The conclusions of this study are the most frightening I have seen concerning modern-day threats. Few have heard of it because the report has yet to be made public. ... When the American people realize as much, the outrage will be palpable." However, other experts have downplayed the technological feasibility of an EMP attack and point to the fact that most of those appointed to the Commission had close ties to the defense industry. Fox News turned for insight on the EMP threat to former White House terrorism director R.P. Eddy, who currently heads the Center for Policing Terrorism. Eddy warned that "a nuclear explosion or another weapon that releases a wave of electrons ... will fry every electronic gizmo or tool that civilization needs to survive. ... Not only would the power grid be out ... but every piece of electronics that we use, from pacemakers to phones to cars." "Major civilizations, major nations have built electromagnetic pulse weapons," Eddy asserted, "but they're not that complicated to make, and it's likely that terrorists could actually make some of the weapons." Despite Eddy's claim, a recent article in the Register suggests that even the Pentagon has not yet successfully developed an electropulse weapon. However, aerial nuclear explosions do remain a credible means of achieving the same result, and Fox displayed a graphic showing that a nuclear burst 300 miles over Kansas could take out all of the United States. “Countries like Iran or North Korea could use some of their nuclear weapons to create an electromagnetic pulse," Eddy proposed. "It's very hard to defend against a missile." He added that the US military has been attentive to hardening its own electronics for decades, but "it doesn't mean that civilization in this country is paying attention to it." "You can use a nuclear weapon, and you don't have to have as accurate or as long-range a missile to deliver it," Eddy concluded, suggesting that Iran might shoot a nuclear-tipped Scud missile at the United States from a barge anchored off the coast. Right-wing sources have been trying for years to tie Iran to the threat of EMP attacks, particularly after it was reported in 2005 that Iran had been testing mid-air explosions of its ballistic missiles. At that time, the conservative website World Net Daily claimed, "Iran is not only covertly developing nuclear weapons, it is already testing ballistic missiles specifically designed to destroy America's technical infrastructure, effectively neutralizing the world's lone superpower, say U.S. intelligence sources, top scientists and western missile industry experts." 2. Our grid has been hardened - it will mitigate an EMP attack.Defense News July 10 2008 (William Matthews, “Little Congressional Interest in EMP Threat”, http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3621581&c=AME&s=TOP) There is "a high likelihood" than an EMP attack would damage the "electrical power systems, electronics and information systems upon which American society depends." The effect "on critical infrastructures could be sufficient to qualify as catastrophic to the nation," Graham said. But disaster need not occur. Large-scale, long-term disastrous consequences can be limited if the U.S. government and critical industries would spend three to five years and billions of dollars hardening power grids and electronic equipment to withstand large electromagnetic pulses, he said. AT: Grid Terror (Alaskan Pipeline)1. Pipeline operators have responded to the terrorist threat and have increased security and cooperationPaul Parfomak 2004 Specialist in Science and Technology Resources at CRS [“Pipeline Security: An Overview of Federal Activities and Current Policy Issues.” CRS Report for Congress. February 5, 2004. fas.org/sgp/ crs/RL31990.pdf] While their security programs traditionally tended to focus on personnel safety and preventing vandalism, some have been more comprehensive. For example, security at the trans- Alaska pipeline during the Gulf War included measures such as armed guards, controlled access, intrusion detection and dedicated communications at key facilities, as well as aerial and ground surveillance of the pipeline corridor.41 However, the events of September 11, 2001 focused attention on the vulnerability of pipelines to different terrorist threats. In particular, the terrorist attacks raised the possibility of systematic attacks on pipelines by sophisticated terror groups in a manner that had not been widely anticipated before. After the September 11 attacks, natural gas pipeline operators immediately increased security and began identifying additional ways to deal with terrorist threats. Gas pipeline operators, for example, through the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), formed a security task force to coordinate and oversee the industry’s security efforts. The INGAA states that it ensured that every member company designated a senior manager to be responsible for security. Working with DOT, the Department of Energy (DOE), and non-member pipeline operators, the INGAA states that it assessed industry security programs and began developing common risk-based practices for incident deterrence, preparation, detection and recovery. These assessments addressed issues such as spare parts exchange, critical parts inventory systems, and security communications with emergency agencies, among other matters. The INGAA also worked with federal agencies, including the OPS and Homeland Security, to develop a common government threat notification system.42 Directory: files -> documents documents -> North Mankato Taylor Library documents -> In the Red and Brown Water documents -> - documents -> I. Disaster Summary Sheet II. 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