Asymmetric Warfare Being Conducted In The U.S.?

Is America’s Critical Infrastructure Being Targeted In Asymmetric Warfare

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The United States has recently experienced numerous high-profile incidents involving the destruction of critical infrastructure, including fires at warehouses and food processing plants, and other events impacting the nation’s food, water and energy assets.

A primary concern for many are train derailments across the U.S., some of which have resulted in ecological damage to surrounding areas, killing animals and contaminating the water supply. Such events are garnering closer national scrutiny.

The sharp focus placed on these incidents by media and online personalities has sparked concern that the destruction may be part of an asymmetric warfare campaign undertaken by one or more U.S. adversaries. 

Often named as a suspect is Russia, whose officials have vowed “consequences” after an explosive report was published by award-winning investigative journalist Seymour “Sy” Hersh, alleging that U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the destruction of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to Europe.

Though there have been more than a dozen train derailments this year, these incidents have been on the decline. In 2021, there were 1,087 train derailments, which averages to about three per day. Other data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics show an average of 1,704 per year (4.73 per day). This means the U.S. is currently behind pace for train derailments.

But, against the backdrop of the specter of war with Russia and/or China, questions mount concerning the possibility that foreign or domestic actors may be acting as saboteurs. Timcast was urged by a military professional to examine connections between train accidents and military lines of transportation or facilities.

One common denominator among the spate of recent train derailments is that many have occurred along a key railway system used by the military — the U.S. Department of Defense’s Strategic Rail Corridor Network, otherwise known as STRACNET.

The U.S. Department of Transportation supports the STRACNET program, which enables the DoD to “access more than 32,000 miles of rail lines to move essential military equipment to ports located around the country and to connect military facilities,” according to a report from the Defense Technical Information Center.

Given the significance of the railway system, some feel that recent train accidents may be targeted actions facilitated by U.S. adversaries.

“We literally have a dozen toxic national environmental disasters, whether it’s trains, whether it’s a fixed toxic chemical storage facility or manufacturing plant randomly catching fire, that does not happen,” a former military specialist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they still work as a contractor, told Timcast.

“Oh, it’s just accidental?” they asked before linking the incidents to escalating tensions with Russia and China.

The source noted the ease with which a derailment can be carried out: “Okay, so this is a train. That’s ‘Demolitions 101,’” they stated, before following with six separate examples of how to derail a train. “Any child, any middle schooler with enough time, and you don’t even need that much time, can sabotage any railway.”

They added that if there were evidence implicating rogue foreign actors in the recent damage to U.S. infrastructure, the federal government would likely maintain a cloak of secrecy.

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