[PJ] If North Korea detonated a nuclear device 200 kilometers above the Earth in order to create an electromagnetic pulse, would the U.S. counterstrike North Korea with conventional and perhaps nuclear weapons?
The answer had better be "hell yes."
Everyone agrees: an EMP attack over or near U.S., Japanese, or South Korean territory is a physical attack that would wreak havoc with communications, the power grid, and civilian physical infrastructure.
This quip makes the point with bumper sticker clarity: "EMP kills EMS."
American emergency medical systems, or EMS, depend on mobile communications to route EMS ambulances to accident sites and citizens in physical distress. An EMP attack would knock out a seizure victim's cell phone, the county EMS communication center, and the communications on the EMS ambulance. It would likely fry all of the electronics on the vehicle. If the ambulance has an electronic microchip key and a fancy-superkeen electronic ignition button, it might not even start. |