Reducing Vulnerability: The Energy Jugular

Massive attacks by nuclear-armed missiles are not this country’s only strategic problem. National security is threatened not only by hostile ideology but also by misapplied technology; not only by threats imposed by enemies abroad but also by threats that America heedlessly—and needlessly—has imposed on itself. Despite its awesome military might, the United States has become extremely vulnerable, and is becoming more vulnerable, to the simple, low-technology disruption of such vital infrastructure as energy supply, water, food, data processing, and telecommunications. Terrorism, technical mishap, or natural disaster that damaged the domestic energy system could be nearly as devastating as a sizeable war. Covert paramilitary or nonmilitary attacks on key infrastructure are so cheap, safe, and deniable that they may prove a fatally attractive instrument of surrogate warfare. The ICS Press Copyright © 1984 Page 173 www.icspress.com Reprinted with permission from The Institute for Contemporary Studies Chapter 10