perfidy

Like myself, of course.

A nuclear device detonated at an altitude of a couple hundred miles over the middle of the United States would essentially drop us back into the pre-industrial age. EMP, or electro-magnetic pulse, is a well known effect of high altitude nuclear explosions. The result is that electrical and electronic equipment gets fried. Without electronic and electrical equipment, we have... nothing. Given that over the last fifty years, every article of technology we have has become deeply intertwined with electronics, removing all that juicy, productivity and life enhancing stuff leaves us with what we had in, say, 1800. In 1945, we would have been much safer from EMP, given that most of our industrial infrastructure was mechanical, and not so vulnerable. Now, only the most heavily shielded electronics would survive. The effect will hit even deeply buried electronics, and having something turned off is no protection either, since the pulse naturally effects the wiring - the fact that there is power in it or not is irrelevant.

All ill-intentioned non-denominational agrarian reformers need to commit this perfidy on the peace loving folk of our nation is:

• A nuclear device, available at special terms from the worker's paradise of North Korea,
• A medium range ballistic missile, such as a Scud, of which there are thousands throughout the world,
• A moderately large freighter, to get within a hundred miles or so of the American Coast, and provide a stable launch platform, and
• The aformentioned ill intentions

An attack of this nature could conceivably cause vastly greater casualties than exploding the same device in, say, downtown Manhattan. While the immediate casualties resulting from an EMP blast might be as low as zero, the after-effects would be horrific in the extreme as all of our distribution, communication and power systems are knocked completely out. Imagine New Orleans after Katrina, nationwide. The worst thing about New Orleans was the fact that thanks to its geographical isolation, it was difficult to get aid into the city effectively. When everyone is out, things could get very bad.

The loss of food distribution, in particular, would be the most dire possibility. With vehicles no longer working, food stays in warehouses. And no major city is more than three days from starvation, thanks to the large scale implementation of highly efficient, but fragile just-in-time inventory schemes. Everyone is without power, and the capacities of work crews to fix things would be swiftly overwhelmed. So you have Katrina combined with the great blackout.

One thing that would still work though, is guns. Make of that what you will.