World governments have urged citizens to stockpile supplies, warning them to prepare ‘in case of crisis or war.’
The UK, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and France have urged residents to keep several days’ worth of food, medicine, and other essentials ready.
In the US, the Pentagon has been preparing for a scenario in which the civilian systems upon which Americans depend stop working.
Now, a longtime former FBI Deputy Director and special agent has warned that Americans should take those preparations seriously, describing threats that could reach directly into their homes, bank accounts, and everyday lives.
Chris Swecker, who spent 24 years with the bureau, told the Daily Mail that foreign nuclear threats, terrorism and civil unrest had created what he called an ‘existential threat’ requiring emergency plans. He also warned that devastating cyberattacks could cripple the nation’s financial system, while sabotage could plunge millions into darkness.
‘We’ve got five, maybe six, countries out there that are fully capable of launching nuclear attacks,’ he said. ‘They’re developing more missile technology and more missiles, and building more missiles every day. So there’s an existential threat there.’
His assessment follows a public plea from former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who urged Americans to prepare for a world-changing disaster and warned they could be left largely on their own during an extreme emergency.
‘He’s spot on that it would behoove the American people to have an emergency plan and be prepared,’ Swecker said.
Swecker, a former assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, pointed to ongoing turmoil spreading across Europe, with riots and protests breaking out in Paris, Rome, Milan, Barcelona and Albania’s capital of Tirana.
‘There’s a copycat factor, operating right now,’ he said. ‘I think there are attempts, and there have been attempts, to create real civil unrest.’
Citing events in France, Swecker detailed how parts of cities had been overrun, with shops, homes and infrastructure destroyed and buildings occupied.
‘That’s not on the scale of a nuclear crisis, or even a power grid or a financial system collapse-type crisis, but it is a crisis that can go viral across the country and has to some degree, but I think it can get worse,’ he added.
Swecker also warned that the US was ill-equipped to contain widespread violence, rioting, and looting, which he claimed would be aimed at destabilizing the country from within.
‘I don’t think that their eye is on that ball. There are different federal agencies, different law enforcement agencies across the country, state and local, and given the political situation right now, it’s been made almost impossible to operate in a sort of coordinated fashion to go after that type of threat.’
Swecker specifically described this domestic threat as including efforts to support civil unrest, foreign terrorism and intelligence threats that endanger national security inside the country.
‘We have what I would describe as a ‘fifth column’ operating here in the US, which is sympathizers of terrorist organizations and sympathizers of a different form of government than we’ve ever endorsed here in the United States,’ he said.
Swecker’s and Bongino’s warnings came after the Pentagon’s 90-day emergency plan was made public in late October.
The FORTRESS plan calls for portable nuclear reactors, large battery systems and independent local power grids to keep US military bases running during blackouts.
Civilian factories would also be prepared to switch to defense production, backed by stockpiles of ammunition, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts, and medical supplies.
Swecker told the Daily Mail he was surprised that a plan like this had not been made public before now, claiming that the threat of a nuclear attack has become a terrifyingly realistic possibility.
He pointed to threats from nuclear powers, as well as an electrical grid vulnerable to cyberattacks and a financial system he said has been repeatedly infiltrated by criminals and hostile foreign intelligence services.
‘I think it just would behoove Americans to be well prepared for that. I applaud the military in recognizing the threat, and they’re going to be the people that are going to come to the rescue, so they need to take care of themselves and make sure they’re self-sufficient,’ Swecker said.
The FORTRESS plan and continued civil unrest across Europe have fueled fears among crisis experts that the US could face an imminent threat.