Annie Jacobsen

We must come back from the brink. We are at the brink.

When I was writing an earlier book on DARPA, the Pentagon Science Agency, I went to a library down in San Diego called the Giesel Library to look at Herb York's papers. Herb York was the first chief scientist for the Pentagon for DARPA, then called ARPA. And I had been trying to get the number from the various agencies that be. Like, what is the exact number and how do we know it?

When I was writing an earlier book on DARPA, the Pentagon Science Agency, I went to a library down in San Diego called the Giesel Library to look at Herb York's papers. Herb York was the first chief scientist for the Pentagon for DARPA, then called ARPA. And I had been trying to get the number from the various agencies that be. Like, what is the exact number and how do we know it?

When I was writing an earlier book on DARPA, the Pentagon Science Agency, I went to a library down in San Diego called the Giesel Library to look at Herb York's papers. Herb York was the first chief scientist for the Pentagon for DARPA, then called ARPA. And I had been trying to get the number from the various agencies that be. Like, what is the exact number and how do we know it?

And like, does it change? And, you know, as technology advances, does that number reduce? All these kinds of questions. And no one will answer that question on an official level. And so much to my surprise, I found the answer in here. Herb York's dusty archive of papers. And this is information that was jealously guarded. I mean, it's not necessarily classified, but it certainly wasn't out there.

And like, does it change? And, you know, as technology advances, does that number reduce? All these kinds of questions. And no one will answer that question on an official level. And so much to my surprise, I found the answer in here. Herb York's dusty archive of papers. And this is information that was jealously guarded. I mean, it's not necessarily classified, but it certainly wasn't out there.

And like, does it change? And, you know, as technology advances, does that number reduce? All these kinds of questions. And no one will answer that question on an official level. And so much to my surprise, I found the answer in here. Herb York's dusty archive of papers. And this is information that was jealously guarded. I mean, it's not necessarily classified, but it certainly wasn't out there.

And I felt like, wow, Herb York left these behind for someone like me Right. And what the process – he wanted to know the answer to your question. And as the guy in charge of it all. So he hired this group of scientists who then and still are in many ways like – the Superman scientists of the Pentagon, and they're called the Jason scientists. Many conspiracies about them abound.

And I felt like, wow, Herb York left these behind for someone like me Right. And what the process – he wanted to know the answer to your question. And as the guy in charge of it all. So he hired this group of scientists who then and still are in many ways like – the Superman scientists of the Pentagon, and they're called the Jason scientists. Many conspiracies about them abound.

And I felt like, wow, Herb York left these behind for someone like me Right. And what the process – he wanted to know the answer to your question. And as the guy in charge of it all. So he hired this group of scientists who then and still are in many ways like – the Superman scientists of the Pentagon, and they're called the Jason scientists. Many conspiracies about them abound.

I interviewed their founder and have interviewed many of them. But they whittled the number down to seconds, okay? Specifically for Herb York, and it goes like this, because this is where my jaw dropped and I went, wow, okay? So 26 minutes and 40 seconds from a launch pad in the Soviet Union to

I interviewed their founder and have interviewed many of them. But they whittled the number down to seconds, okay? Specifically for Herb York, and it goes like this, because this is where my jaw dropped and I went, wow, okay? So 26 minutes and 40 seconds from a launch pad in the Soviet Union to

I interviewed their founder and have interviewed many of them. But they whittled the number down to seconds, okay? Specifically for Herb York, and it goes like this, because this is where my jaw dropped and I went, wow, okay? So 26 minutes and 40 seconds from a launch pad in the Soviet Union to

to the east coast and it happens in three phases very simple and interesting to remember because then suddenly all of this makes more sense boost phase mid-course phase and then terminal phase okay boost phase five minutes that's when the rocket launches so you just imagine a rocket going off the launch pad and the fire beneath it again that's why the satellites can see it okay

to the east coast and it happens in three phases very simple and interesting to remember because then suddenly all of this makes more sense boost phase mid-course phase and then terminal phase okay boost phase five minutes that's when the rocket launches so you just imagine a rocket going off the launch pad and the fire beneath it again that's why the satellites can see it okay

to the east coast and it happens in three phases very simple and interesting to remember because then suddenly all of this makes more sense boost phase mid-course phase and then terminal phase okay boost phase five minutes that's when the rocket launches so you just imagine a rocket going off the launch pad and the fire beneath it again that's why the satellites can see it okay

Now it's becoming visual. Now it makes sense to me, right? Five minutes, and that's where the rocket can be tracked. And then imagine learning, wait a minute, after five minutes, the rocket can no longer be seen from space. The satellite can only see the hot rocket exhaust. Then the missile enters its mid-course phase, 20 minutes. And that's the ballistic part of it, where it's kind of flying up

Now it's becoming visual. Now it makes sense to me, right? Five minutes, and that's where the rocket can be tracked. And then imagine learning, wait a minute, after five minutes, the rocket can no longer be seen from space. The satellite can only see the hot rocket exhaust. Then the missile enters its mid-course phase, 20 minutes. And that's the ballistic part of it, where it's kind of flying up

Now it's becoming visual. Now it makes sense to me, right? Five minutes, and that's where the rocket can be tracked. And then imagine learning, wait a minute, after five minutes, the rocket can no longer be seen from space. The satellite can only see the hot rocket exhaust. Then the missile enters its mid-course phase, 20 minutes. And that's the ballistic part of it, where it's kind of flying up

Between 500 and 700 miles above the Earth and moving very fast and with the Earth until it gets very close to its target. And the last 100 seconds are terminal phase. It's where the warhead reenters the atmosphere and detonates. 26 minutes and 40 seconds. Now, in my scenario, I open with North Korea launching a one megaton nuclear warhead at Washington, D.C. That's the nihilistic madman maneuver.