The knowledge to build E-Bombs has been around for quite a while. I do agree about Pop-Science's article. Some editor dropped the ball on that one.

The military assets you discuss are protected up to several hundred EP/K-volts. I would not worry about military equipment, what I wonder about is one set off in, say New York, Washington, Kansas City (communications node) or Seattle.

The wiping out of huge amounts of Banking data, Communications equipment or Air Traffic control centers is in ways much worse than a lot of other scenarios you could think of.

What if several were set off crippling the internet? So much of the financial transactions and business done daily in the US is carried through the net. Not to mention the millions of personal computers, cash registers, gas pumps, ATM's, Electronic locks and power grid controlls that would be ruined. Health care facilities with all that wonderful equipment useless. The cost would be in the hundreds of billions.

Lots of way to do immense damage to this country, not all involve killing people.

Richard