Photo: alainonline.net You may recall we reported here on threats and an attack to our power grid system in the United States– it wasn’t just an isolated, one-off event. This past Sunday, Israel National News Arutz Sheva reported that for the first time in history, a terrorist attack on the electric power grid has blacked-out an entire nation – in this case Yemen. Media attention has been so focused on the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and their brutal conquest of northern Iraq and advance toward Baghdad, that the perhaps even more significant terrorist threat has been ignored. On June 9, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), used rocket-propelled grenade launchers and mortars to destroy transmission towers, plunging the whole of Yemen into blackout. The AQAP blackout of Yemen’s electric grid has gone largely unreported. Yemen, a nation of 24 million, is an important U.S. ally in the war on terrorism and has been the scene of some of the most significant episodes of that war. AQAP, based in Yemen, is notorious for its aggressive and ingenious terror operations against the United States. It was in Yemen where a drone strike killed Islamic terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki — good riddance. Lest we forget, on October 12, 2000, AQAP used plastic explosives to convert a motorized dinghy into a torpedo that blasted the USS Cole, killing and injuring 56 sailors, and nearly sinking the sophisticated guided missile destroyer, worth almost one billion dollars. So why should we be concerned about this event in Yemen? For starters, North Korea has provided Yemen with at least 15 Scud-B mobile missiles, capable of delivering nuclear, chemical, biological or high-explosive warheads weighing one ton to a range of 300 kilometers. Iran has demonstrated that Scud missiles can be ship-launched from a freighter. As a member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, one of our concerns was an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attack. What this entails is firing a nuclear device high into the altitude for detonation. A study by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found that attacks on just nine key transformer substations could blackout the entire nation for weeks or months. The Congressional Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Commission warned that a nuclear Scud missile launched from a freighter could blackout the U.S. for a year or more, killing up to 9 of 10 Americans by starvation and societal collapse. This is not some Flash Gordon comic book scenario, this is for real — this is not“whack-a-mole.” Killing bin Laden meant nothing. That was not a strategic success — just as when our U.S. forces shot down Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, the Japanese did not surrender or quit fighting. Last year a terrorist teleconference was attended by more than 20 leaders of al-Qaida and affiliates participating from the Middle East and North Africa. Al-Qaida members in the conference included Nigeria’s Boko Haram, Pakistani Taliban, al-Qaida in Iraq, al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb, al-Qaida in Uzbekistan and others. One U.S. intelligence officer reportedly described the gathering as “a legion of doom.” Could it be the big terror offensive now rolling across the Middle East is the unfolding of the plot planned last year? Media reporting acts as if the ISIS conquest of northern Iraq, Taliban attacks on nuclear-armed Pakistan, and the terror blackout in Yemen are unrelated. But all of these actors were plotting something together last year. A leader with strategic vision looks for indicators and warnings and recognizes the enemy — this is so obviously lacking in the Obama administration. Let us never forget 9-11 didn’t just come together during the first year of the Bush administration. It was being built and planned during the Clinton administration — is history repeating itself? And this next one will not be just about flying airplanes into buildings. We can’t sit back and whine that “America is war weary” – because the Islamists sure ain’t! Remember, Hitler took the Rhineland without firing a shot — of course the lack of history taught in our schools means many have no freakin’ clue as to what I said, or its significance. I gotta tell ya, I feel like I’m reading and watching all this unfold just as Churchill did. I don’t want to see my homeland bombed as Churchill did, but I will fight with his same dogged determination. We had best awaken or prepare to pay a heavy cost. Read more at Are Islamists rehearsing an attack on our power grid? | Allen B. West - AllenBWest.com
In my humble opinion.... Fearmongering, at best. If an "attack" ever did occur, and "terrorists" were the culprits, that would mean by default, the perpetrators are really black ops secret government types. The CIA and secret government have their hands in the cookie jar, and very little actual terrorist activity is ever the real deal, that is to say, not funded and controlled by the establishment in some way. What does this all mean? Well, in the end, nothing changes. We would still be faced with a real threat, no matter the "how, when or why".
Not sure why they're "Rehearsing" and not just doing it. I don't buy the whole rehearsing thing, I think they were actual attacks that didn't yeild the expected results. The California sub station attack damaged the facility, but the utility was able to re-route power. Two more attacks have occurred in Arizona, the 1st was earlier this year when someone attempted to cut power lines, the 2nd was just this June when a pipe bomb/incendiary device ignited but only managed to char the paint on a diesel fuel tank. All three failed, but eventually they'll get it right - then we're all in trouble. These all seem to be independent and un-coordinated attacks, but attacks nonetheless.
Rehearsing.... Not likely.... Islamists... so far nobody has been caught.... So that is just WildA$$ Speculation..... One substation in a local Distribution System isn't going to take out much.... Now if you took out the HVDC Line from Washington to Commiefornia... That would cause some "Issues" for sure.... Most of these can be explained, by our own Home Grown NutBalls... and Kids with nothing better to do.... Gives the Federal LE boys something to go chase around, for a while, but they likely will never catch the Perps, as these are so random.... .....
Picture this--Christmas season, cold wintry weather and suddenly there is no electricity, no natural gas, no kerosene, no food, no water, and no immediate resupply. How many would die from exposure/etc.? Combine that with an epidemic of contagious diseases just breaking out and we would lose half our population with in a month.
It said it was from- I saw this article elsewhere. It goes from bad guys destroying towers to EMP. This is Yemen. Yemen is a poor country and most of the major cities are on the coast. The outlining areas are really bad. Poverty, lack of water... I doubt all 24 million are without power because I doubt all 24 million originally had power.
Good point Motoman, also the article was concerned Iran gave Scuds to Yemen and they suggested an EMP threat. Not much of a threat there.
The sad fact is, in reality the grid really is easy to take down if you know how to do it. You can collapse a regional grid, or national with the right amount of resources. I could take down the Seattle and maybe the NW just by my internal knowledge of the grid/sub-station and feeder network, like many of us here do know by virtue of our trade... ( note as I would ever do such a thing, just a matter of fact). I have had many apprentice or JW that could potentially be planted to learn the system and then strike within. Currently we have one female that wears a traditional headdress daily... does that mean anything in the bigger picture, no. But this is another avenue for terrorist to imbed and strike as they did on 9-11 IMO. The fact overall is we are susceptible to attack from within, or via weapon such as an EMP. What can we do as a common man/woman to stop this, not much. But we can consider that in our prep's to better understand and be ready for what could potentially come in our future.
Preparation prevents poverty. Ever watch ants work? They constantly build and store--why should we larger critters do any differently. Put up some blackberries today before taking off to the beach for a few days. Niece is picking the beds while we are gone and will be ready to can a bit when we return. We are enjoying the grids service but am not dependent upon it.
