American Consequences - September 2020

BLACKOUT... THEN WORLD WAR III

Katrina, we must be better prepared. In fact, when you finish reading this piece, I think you’ll agree... When it comes to our power grid, we need to be on the offense. Full disclosure, as I began my research for this story... I didn’t quite grasp how terrifying this possibility really was. AMERICA’S GREATEST VULNERABILITY I had heard concerns about America’s greatest vulnerability from some of my military contacts throughout the years... But somehow it always gets lost in the midst of the other day-to-day headlines. For example, did President Donald Trump have a mini stroke that weekend a year ago when he went to the hospital? (I spoke to him by phone the Monday following the incident and he swore it was all routine.) Meanwhile, did Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi really not wear a mask when she took an

But not this time... I was unprepared for Isaias’ aftermath. I knew the storm was heading our way, but I hadn’t anticipated its full wrath. A full 98% of our little New England community had no power for days. No one could make calls, gas up their car, get money from the ATM, or even buy food from the store. Which got me thinking... and researching... What if it was 98% of the country ? It’s much more possible than you think. It could happen tomorrow. And the result would be catastrophic. There would be no ability to connect with each other. No ability to get money from a bank. No ability for food to be distributed. Water access would be limited... and this is why a congressional report from 2016 predicts that if the lights went out – we risk losing 90% of the American population within a year. In modern times, we take electricity and connectivity for granted. But as I saw on the ground in New Orleans, where I reported for six weeks during the aftermath of Hurricane

Editor’s note: As I researched, I wanted to turn away from writing this piece. And yet, I knew this needed to be written, because we must discuss this. Americans need to understand our own vulnerabilities. And we absolutely must address them. We cannot bury our heads in the sand. This is real. The naysayers allege that an EMP attack would never happen because no country would actually do that to another. However, in war... all bets are off. And, as we increasingly see new technology emerging to help developing worlds in their quest for dominance and world power, some countries might indeed decide they have every reason to do this... especially if they secure first strike advantage, thereby immobilizing the U.S. and, perhaps our allies.

And while we’ve known about this threat for some time... We’ve. Done. Nothing.

52

September 2020

Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog