William Forstchen - One Second After

An EMP attack should not be viewed as a Cold War “bolt from the blue” but prepared for as an anticipated asymmetric “bolt from the gray.” We have been warned that our country is “vulnerable and virtually unprotected against an EMP attack that could damage or destroy civilian and military critical electronic infrastructures triggering catastrophic consequences that could cause the permanent collapse of our society.” [8] Roscoe G. Bartlett, Letter, October 19, 2004. One second after an EMP attack, it will be too late to ask two simple questions: what should we have done to prevent the attack and why didn’t we do it. [9] The views expressed in this essay are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.

Captain Bill Sanders, U.S. Navy

Copyright© 2009 by William R. Fortschen

Forward Copyright© 2009 by Newt Gingrich

Afterword Copyright© by William D. Sanders

First edition March 2009

ISBN: 0765317583

ISBN-13: 9780765317582

Bill Keller, “Nuclear Nightmares,” New York Times Magazine, May 26, 2002. From an interview with General Eugene Habiger, USAF (ret.), on nuclear terrorism scenarios.

Gary L. Smith, Testimony Statement, U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Military Research and Development, July 16, 1997.

Samuel Glasstone and Philip J. Dolan (eds.), The Effects of Nuclear Weapons (Third Edition), United States Department of Defense and the Energy Research and Development Administration, 1977, p. 522.

Newt Gingrich, Testimony Statement, U.S. Senate, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, November 15, 2005.

Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack, Volume I, Executive Report 2004, available at http://empcommission.org.

Ibid., 3.

Lowell Wood, Testimony, U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Armed Services, July 22, 2004.

Roscoe G. Bartlett, Letter, October 19, 2004.

The views expressed in this essay are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.