Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [201]
EMP weaponry: The electromagnetic pulse produced by a nuclear explosion has been a known concept since almost the inception of atomic warfare. A nuclear bomb exploded high in the Earth’s atmosphere sends out an electromagnetic pulse that destroys or damages all electronic systems in its path in a nanosecond. Its effectiveness depends on the size of the explosion, altitude of detonation, and orientation with respect to geomagnetic fields.
The major effect of the EMP weapon is to destroy all electronic circuitry. The destruction caused by an EMP detonation high over an industrialized nation heavily dependent on electronic systems would be of staggering proportions. Such a strike would affect everyone, disabling everything from military targeting systems to business computer networks to home ventilation systems and critical hospital monitoring equipment. The specter of terrorists detonating a nuclear device atop a scud missile launched from a tramp freighter off the East Coast of the United States is chilling. As delivery systems—such as those possessed by Iran and North Korea—become more sophisticated and nuclear warheads more miniaturized for easier delivery, the threat grows.
Black-market nuclear weaponry: Since the end of the Cold War, thousands of nuclear warheads have been dismantled, leaving tons of weapons-grade uranium in various stages of secure storage. Because it takes only a few kilograms of enriched plutonium to make a crude nuclear device—and far less for a dirty bomb—black-market uranium sales have grown lucrative. There have been several reported incidents of attempted transfers of weapons-grade uranium, and one can only imagine how many transactions went undetected. There is also concern that nuclear bomb-making blueprints are available on the black market. Nations like North Korea have been ingenious in importing materials needed for bomb-making and demonstrate the capacity for a committed buyer with a huge checkbook to secure high-tech weapons. As the proliferation of nuclear weaponry continues, it is not hard to imagine the sale of a turnkey nuclear weapon to a superwealthy buyer. A nonnuclear nation with cruise missile or intermediate-range ballistic missile capability could become an instant nuclear power with acquisition of such weaponry. Such is the scenario suggested in this book.
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Created in May 1981, the GCC represents several Persian Gulf nations, 2011 membership being Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The alliance was designed to foster security, economic growth, and political ties. Collectively, the GCC possesses almost half of the world’s known oil reserves, and Saudi Arabia is the most powerful member of the alliance. Control of or access to the GCC would enhance the leverage of an oil-producing nation, a scenario suggested in the book.
Chapter 10:
A number of important oil and economic concepts are introduced in this chapter via a televised financial news interview with Vice-President Clayton McCarty. The following concepts are worth noting:
America’s addiction to oil: America is addicted to oil, as evidenced by the fact that with less than 5 percent of the world’s population and 2 percent of global oil reserves, it consumes over 22 percent of the world’s oil—roughly 19 million barrels per day (MB/D) out of the 87 MB/D of current global oil production. Oil is the mother’s milk of commerce: a major fuel source