The good news is that there are things that can be done to make our electrical infrastructure less vulnerable to these sorts of Katrina-on-steroids assaults. That is especially true now, as the stimulus package enacted earlier this year makes billions of dollars available to effect long-overdue and much-needed upgrades in the U.S. grid.
The question is: Will we take those steps in time, before hostile forces or further natural phenomena devastate this country?
This week a large number of Americans determined to take such preventive action now are convening in Niagara Falls, N.Y. — a community that knows something about hydro-electric power and its importance for the country.
This meeting will be the first-of-its-kind on this subject, a large conference open to the public and aimed at educating the rest of us about these threats, and impelling the adoption of prophylactic measures.
Presentations will be made by Newt Gingrich and several key serving legislators, as well as many of the country’s most knowledgeable scientists, security policy experts and industry leaders.
Organized by a new group, EMPAct America, this meeting represents the best opportunity to date to translate the warnings of the EMP Threat Commission into action. The time has come to do just that.
Frank J. Gaffney Jr. is president of the Center for Security Policy and a columnist for The Washington Times.
'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
