Given the news of North Korea’s latest missile launch, the latest episode of my podcast — with Andy Marshall, the longtime former head of the Pentagon’s internal think tank, the Office of Net Assessment — has added relevance.
Earlier this month, I sat down with the 96-year old Marshall for a rare interview. Marshall is more famous for coming up with the right questions to ask rather than for answering them. Nevertheless, the interview was fascinating. Among the topics I pressed him on was the threat of a North Korean electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack.
“Well, I think that’s a real threat,” Marshall said, adding that the U.S. has “significant vulnerabilities” to such an attack. ”There was this commission,” he added, which “called attention to vulnerabilities and problems that as far as I know never got fixed on our side . . . it’s the kind of thing [where] a few weapons could have a really big effect.”
There is some debate over whether North Korea could successful launch an EMP threat, but there is little question that a successful EMP attack could be devastating to the American homeland.
The whole interview is worth your time.