If One Second After happened in real life

For those who don't know about the book it's this. The US is crippled after an EMP attack by a joint Iran/ North korea alliance. It is also mention Russia and the Coast of Japan are hit as well as China occupying the western part of the US. European doesn't get hit but was suppose too.

The US withdraws all military from all over the world or at least from the eastern side of it. In the second book the US Government begins a national draft and uses neutron bombs on lawless places like Chicago. The government also creates "The Department of National Reunification." India and Pakistan have a limited nuclear exchange and then have a war afterwords.

If this were to happen in real life how would this the world's balance of power and economy? How would the UN and EU be effected? How long would it take for the EMPed countries and the world to get back on its feet?
 
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Well, for starters, Iran and North Korea will have ceased to exist. If China is involved, they get hit as well. The idea that the US fails to retaliate and withdraws from the world seems ridiculous; this is an attack and a serious one that will be responded to with all the force at the disposal of the United States. A Chinese occupation of the Western US is similarly ridiculous. The power may be out, but the US would retain its nuclear deterrent and the population of the United States remains heavily armed, even on the West Coast. It is hard to see the American people going down without a fight that would impose a high price for attempting an invasion and occupation. And it makes no sense anyway since the Chinese economy is heavily dependent upon trade with the United States.

Recovery from the EMP attack would be long and difficult. America and the rest of the world rethinks its dependence upon vulnerable electronics without backup systems. It would change dramatically the relationship of society to technology. The global economy, by the way, collapses for years and life everywhere is arduous and difficult for quite some time.
 
Well, for starters, Iran and North Korea will have ceased to exist. If China is involved, they get hit as well. The idea that the US fails to retaliate and withdraws from the world seems ridiculous; this is an attack and a serious one that will be responded to with all the force at the disposal of the United States. A Chinese occupation of the Western US is similarly ridiculous. The power may be out, but the US would retain its nuclear deterrent and the population of the United States remains heavily armed, even on the West Coast. It is hard to see the American people going down without a fight that would impose a high price for attempting an invasion and occupation. And it makes no sense anyway since the Chinese economy is heavily dependent upon trade with the United States.

Recovery from the EMP attack would be long and difficult. America and the rest of the world rethinks its dependence upon vulnerable electronics without backup systems. It would change dramatically the relationship of society to technology. The global economy, by the way, collapses for years and life everywhere is arduous and difficult for quite some time.
Iran and North Korea did get nuked by our submarines. China wasn't directly involved but occupied the West Coast and Japan "to help rebuild and restore order."
Edit: I forgot to mention that Pakistan and India nuke each other then get into a war.
 
If Western Europe remains intact, Great Britain, France and Germany will take over the mantle as leaders of the western world while America recovers. They will take responsibility for bringing humanitarian aid to the United States while also taking on the burden of some American military commitments. I can see Britain in particular taking the opportunity to exert influence over the States on the Eastern Seaboard, probably in cooperation with Canada.

China would not occupy the US west coast, partly because there is little reason to do so and partly because they don't have the means.
 

Asami

Banned
The logistics of China 'occupying' the Western US to 'restore order' would be nightmarish, even for the Chinese. Japan would be a difficult sell as well.
 
Worst case scenario? Up to 90% of the population of the US is dead within a year from starvation, loss of medical services and utilities, and billions ultimately die worldwide as American exports of food cease to exist, not to mention the large numbers of people who die from American retaliatory strikes and other wars that break out.
 
In Forstchen's books, all electronic gadgets suffer melted innards.
Disruption of Internet communication would cripple supply chains and starve millions of people who depend upon "just in time delivery" for food.

As for China taking over control of the West Coast?
Sorry to disappoint you but they already have. Asians have invested heavily in West Coast real estate for decades now. Chinese also own a few billion dollars of American debt. When Chinese assert control - of the West Coast - they are merely protecting thier business interests.
"One Second After" and "One Year After" paint scary pictures because they remind us of how heavily our life-style depends upon the Internet and how vulnerable we are to interruptions.

WI bad guys only deploy a series of small EMP generators to disrupt local cell-phone service?
WI those small EMPs only "bruise" electronic gadgets and they can return to service over-night?
WI those small EMPs suffer no long term damage, but still need technicians (replacing fuses or circuit-breakers) to return them to service?
WI rival cell-phone companies destroy cell phone towers?
 

Asami

Banned
Sorry to disappoint you but they already have. Asians have invested heavily in West Coast real estate for decades now. Chinese also own a few billion dollars of American debt. When Chinese assert control - of the West Coast - they are merely protecting thier business interests.

China isn't going to simply occupy the United States, protecting 'interests' or not. This isn't Red Dawn or Homefront. There simply do not exist enough collaborators to make the political ramifications of occupying the West worth the complete loss of public relations for Beijing.
 
China isn't going to simply occupy the United States, protecting 'interests' or not. This isn't Red Dawn or Homefront. There simply do not exist enough collaborators to make the political ramifications of occupying the West worth the complete loss of public relations for Beijing.

I mean they could genuinely spin it as humanitarian, the US in the scenario is really fucked. Why on earth China would want to occupy even a sliver the giant continent spanning basket case that would be an EMP fried America is anyone's guess though. But bear in mind the narrative involves North Korea, Iran and China co-operating to destroy the United States because "something something they hate freedom blah blah blah" so it's not complete without an invasion of CONUS.
 
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Towards the end of the first book the main chara cter meets a general in command of a task force charged with getting rid of gangs of basically Eaters in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina etc. He rembers the main character from staff courses at Carlisle. The general makes a statement tat they really don't know who did the EMP attack and that there are probably less than 30M people alive in the borders of the US. Didn't know there was a follow up
 
Towards the end of the first book the main chara cter meets a general in command of a task force charged with getting rid of gangs of basically Eaters in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina etc. He rembers the main character from staff courses at Carlisle. The general makes a statement tat they really don't know who did the EMP attack and that there are probably less than 30M people alive in the borders of the US. Didn't know there was a follow up

There's a sequel but... Probably leave it. Not as interesting. There's a third book coming out this year I think.
 
China wasn't directly involved but occupied the West Coast and Japan "to help rebuild and restore order.

What version of Japan is this that they can convince the Japanese people to accept deployment of the JSDF outside of Japan? In OTL there has been controversy recently over sending them as UN Peacekeepers in South Sudan.

Of course not that Japan has the means to occupy the west coast, let alone the fact that they are helping China do it.
 
The problem I always had is that all major players knew of EMPS for decades during the Cold War. They shielded all military facilities. The US would become a temporary military dictatorship, assuming the countries that did it do not nukes us in return. Also we would find out who did this and they would cease to exist and everyone in their right mind knows this. If you are going to be using nukes on the US, you dam well be do more than shutting off the power.
 
I think the Dark Lord is saying that China occupies Japan.

Ohhh, that makes more sense, kind of.

Maybe China could occupy Japan (not that the Japanese would appreciate it in any way and let the Chinese know it) but not both the US and Japan.
 
The scenario is ridiculous. The amount of food aid that would go to the United States would be astronomical. China would be sending millions of tons of rice, not sending millions of soldiers. China would rather have the West Coast remember China for its food, not for its bullets and nooses. The United States would be under martial law with UN and NATO peacekeepers, not foreign occupation. And the population wouldn't go down to 30 million, that's insane. There's hundreds of millions of acres of farmland in the US and Canada and a large part of rebuilding will be the military sending people out for sowing and harvest. The first winter will be horrible and millions will die, but the minute the bomb goes off ships full of food and NATO soldiers will be crossing the oceans. It's not like NATO doesn't have a plan for this kind of scenario.
 
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WILDGEESE

Gone Fishin'
If Western Europe remains intact, Great Britain, France and Germany will take over the mantle as leaders of the western world while America recovers. They will take responsibility for bringing humanitarian aid to the United States while also taking on the burden of some American military commitments. I can see Britain in particular taking the opportunity to exert influence over the States on the Eastern Seaboard, probably in cooperation with Canada.

China would not occupy the US west coast, partly because there is little reason to do so and partly because they don't have the means.

Only read this novel in November.

Not a "Cat in Hell's Chance" with France and Germany helping. According to the book when US Forces finally relieve Black Mountain on their way to Ashville, the Cmdr in charge states that the whole of Europe went to shit like the US and Canada with only Portugal and the UK spared, possibly due to a malfunction in the motors or the guidance of the attacking missile.

Regards filers
 

WILDGEESE

Gone Fishin'
For those who don't know about the book it's this. The US is crippled after an EMP attack by a joint Iran/ North korea alliance. It is also mention Russia and the Coast of Japan are hit as well as China occupying the western part of the US. European doesn't get hit but was suppose too.

The US withdraws all military from all over the world or at least from the eastern side of it. In the second book the US Government begins a national draft and uses neutron bombs on lawless places like Chicago. The government also creates "The Department of National Reunification." India and Pakistan have a limited nuclear exchange and then have a war afterwords.

If this were to happen in real life how would this the world's balance of power and economy? How would the UN and EU be effected? How long would it take for the EMPed countries and the world to get back on its feet?

Could the UK £ become the dominant currency replacing the $?

Just a thought.

Regards filer
 
Could the UK £ become the dominant currency replacing the $?

Just a thought.

Regards filer

Quite possibly, especially if WILDGEESE is correct in his statement that Europe sans Britain and Portugal (and presumably Ireland as well, considering geography) is also devastated. Though that's not what anyone else has been saying.

I might be wrong, but isn't Sterling used as a reserve currency by some people even today?
 
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