# Pape links a US infrastructure outage to a possible cyberattack

Markdown copy of https://realalpha.app/s/pape-links-a-us-infrastructure-outage-to-a-possible/ on Real Alpha, the best minutes from long interviews with the people building AI. Cite and link the page, not this copy.

- Speaker: [Robert Pape](https://realalpha.app/people/robert-pape/) · Robert Pape is a political scientist, professor and author. · Founded and directs CPOST, and developed the Escalation Trap model of modern warfare.
- Host: [Steven Bartlett](https://realalpha.app/people/steven-bartlett/) · Host, The Diary Of A CEO
- Show: The Diary Of A CEO
- Episode: [Iran War Expert: "The 8 Weeks After Midterms Could Be The Most Dangerous!" | Prof Robert Pape](https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/), Nov 5, 2026
- Moment: 1:04:03 to 1:08:08 of the episode (4 min), playing on https://realalpha.app/s/pape-links-a-us-infrastructure-outage-to-a-possible/; the episode from there: https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/?t=3843

## Quote

> “And the New York Times quoted directly from U.S. intelligence that said this was most likely **Iran doing a cyber attack** inside the United States.”
> — [Robert Pape](https://realalpha.app/people/robert-pape/) at [1:04:26](https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/?t=3866) · The Diary Of A CEO

## Takeaways

1. Pape points to a New York Times report about outages in Minnesota.
2. He says the article cited intelligence describing Iran’s fingerprints.
3. He recalls journalists being asked what they should not discuss.

## About this segment

Robert Pape cites a report that US power and water outages may have involved an Iranian cyberattack, then explains why he suspects the story was suppressed. The episode offers no technical evidence to verify the claim.

From “Iran War Expert: "The 8 Weeks After Midterms Could Be The Most Dangerous!" | Prof Robert Pape”, Nov 5, 2026. [Watch the full episode](https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/)

## Transcript

From the transcript The Diary Of A CEO publishes with the episode.

[1:04:10](https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/?t=3850) Once we see cyber attacks, we need to understand that this summer in Minnesota and in a number of other states in the United States, in July, the power and the water went out. So we had a water problem. And And the New York Times was the only paper to cover this. And the New York Times quoted directly from U.S. intelligence that said this was most likely Iran doing a cyber attack inside the United States.

[1:04:45](https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/?t=3885) The story was never followed up again. That story was not repeated by other agencies. That has all the hallmarks of U.S. intelligence telling the papers not to cover the story. Now, what happened in the case is we know as a fact. You think that's what happened? Well... I've spent a lot of time with U.S. intelligence community. So in the 90s, I had a clearance. But in the last 20, 30 years, I've spent an enormous amount of time with our intelligence community.

[1:05:16](https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/?t=3916) And the quotes, the language in that article, if people will go back to the article, you'll see that the article is quoting specific people and saying that it has Iran's fingerprints for cyber attack. Now, that's important. That phrasing is very important, Stephen, because that's exactly the phrasing, the unclassified phrasing that is used to understand the cyber capabilities of different actors, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, China.

[1:05:51](https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/?t=3951) Do you think the water went out in Minnesota because Iran didn't attack? I think it's most likely Iran. Yes, I do think we can't say for certain, but I would not put it forward if I didn't think that was a credible report. And then you think the US government might have had a word with some journalists and said, listen. Take it off the table. Don't talk about it. Do they do that? They do. They do.

[1:06:12](https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/?t=3972) Gulf War in 1991, there was a big effort by the Pentagon to work with CNN, ABC, others in the news to, in fact, control some of the news that was coming out. And in the, up to the 2003 Iraq War, this continued. And one of the times I was on the set. So I was on the set. I won't, I don't want to embarrass the journalists, but I was on the set in CNN. And they flew me into New York and I was literally on a set similar like your team.

[1:06:43](https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/?t=4003) I was just talking about how great your team is compared to theirs. And sitting around the table and the reporter, who's a famous reporter, had me on with certain generals. And before the cameras rolled, she said, so let's let's start with the ground rules. What should we not say? What should we not ask you? What should we not talk about with the public? Yeah. Just imagine that, Stephen. Imagine that.

[1:07:08](https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/?t=4028) They would ask you to tell them what they can't share with the public. They ask people from the administration who work, this was the Bush administration, the normal role of the journalist is to do the opposite. In fact, CNN very, very famously got started by interviewing Saddam Hussein in the 19, or not got started, but one of the big things that they got a lot of prominence was interviewing Saddam Hussein when the US military went apoplectic when they did.

[1:07:39](https://realalpha.app/v/a1mI-ozLyYM/?t=4059) So far, This is what I mean by when you ask me, would it be possible for the U.S., for intelligence, U.S. government to ask media to, for the good, they would say for the good of national security, to cool it on a story? And the fact is, I've seen it myself. Wow, what's next? So now, this is the big problem we worry about. I can't tell you this is certain to come. Would not want to do that.