PerspectiveWhen the Lights Went Out: On Blackouts and Terrorism
When the Northeast Blackout of 2003 killed electricity to more than 50 million people in the United States and Canada, the FBI, like many in New York who were still reeling from the September 11, 2001 attacks, shared these concerns. Just the previous year the agency concluded that terrorists were studying weaknesses in power grids. Meanwhile, groups across the country had been preparing for and speculating about doomsday scenarios — scenarios that the first moments of the 2003 blackout mimicked to a disquieting degree.
When the Northeast Blackout of 2003 killed electricity to more than 50 million people in the United States and Canada, the night sky turned so pristinely dark that in some cities the milky way could be seen by the naked eye. But in New York City, where hundreds of commuters were suddenly trapped in stranded subway trains and stalled elevators, stargazing remained far from people’s minds, at least until initial fears subsided. One reporter in Times Square observed “the bewildered, disoriented throngs, frightened by thoughts of terror” who “were trying to get their bearings in an environment that had been transformed in an instant.”
David E. Nye writes in the MIT Press Reader that the FBI, like many in New York who were still reeling from the September 11, 2001 attacks, shared these concerns. Just the previous year the agency concluded that terrorists were studying weaknesses in power grids. Meanwhile, groups across the country had been preparing for and speculating about doomsday scenarios — scenarios that the first moments of the 2003 blackout mimicked to a disquieting degree.
