Dr Peter Pry, Executive Director of the EMP Task Force on Homeland and National Security, has warned of the possibility of China launching a Pearl Harbor-style preemptive attack on the US using an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon.
EMPs use low-yield nuclear weapons detonated in the atmosphere to create a wave of energy that fries electronic equipment and may knock out the power grid. With no power, the country would be plunged into chaos which could lead to rioting and famine, leading to millions of deaths.
The simmering tensions between the two nuclear nations intensified in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. US President Donald Trump continues to blame China for unleashing the global pandemic.
Pry Calls For Power Grid Protection Against the EMP Attack
In recently released papers, the task force warned of the attack in the form of a nuclear strike from space on the country's power grid. In his report released on June 10, Dr Pry warns of a possible "Pearl Harbor-style" preemptive strike in a confrontation between the US and China, reported The Sun.
In the claims made on its website, the campaign group says the threat of the US power grid crashing is real. It further warns that within the first year of the power grid crash, 90 per cent of Americans would die.
Calling to upgrade the protection of the power grid and other critical infrastructure in the US, Dr Pry said in his report that China has been preparing for such a strike for many years so it can use the capability alongside cyber-attacks.
Coronavirus Has Exposed US Weaknesses to Hostile Countries
In an article published in The Hill, Dr Pry, a former intelligence officer with the CIA, stated that the recent pandemic has exposed the dangerous weaknesses in US planning and preparation for civil defense protection and recovery.
"Those weaknesses surely have been noticed by our potential enemies: China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and international terrorists. Hostile foreign powers surely have noticed the panicked, incompetent U.S. response to the virus that shut down a prosperous US economy, self-inflicting the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression," he wrote in his article.
Speaking about the recent Chinese cyber-attacks on the US, Dr Pry said it should be regarded as possible practice or preparation for Total Information Warfare — including nuclear HEMP attack.
Warning that China's "no first use" policy on nuclear weapons would not apply when launching an EMP, Dr Pry said: "Chinese military writings are replete with references to making HEMP attacks against the United States as a means of prevailing in war."
