[grey_whiskers]

Good idea, John.

Let's indirectly provide our enemies with all the information on the flight and telemetry capabilities of the predators.

The man must have Alzheimers.

Quelle dorque!

Cheers!

[livius]

I can name somebody else in the US government, alas, who doesn’t want the Iranians to get anywhere near the Internet.

He’s happy now that the regime has essentially locked down the country and you can’t hear those pesky Iranian citizens anymore.

[taildragger]

What makes McCain think they are immune from what ever toys the Russians sell them, or did he accidentally just spill the beans on the Predators capabilities?

2nd, would not the wi-fi be a signal to home in on and blow out of the sky?

IMHO he might have been better off doing this quietly, the cat is out of the bag, not a way to sneak up and reek havoc on despots.

[Erik Latranyi]

I’m sure we are not too far away from the day when data service will be provided by satellites, ensuring global coverage for voice, data and video for every human that wants it.

Satellite phones are just the beginning.

[Darkwolf377]

Just because we have so many real issues with McCain doesn't mean we should piss all over him ALL the time.

So he doesn't know the technical end--so what? 99% of us AND the Congress doesn't know how things work. Not their job.

He's floating the idea to get the GOP to be seen as on the side of the Iranian people, against the do-nothing, say-nothing Obama.

This is a good thing. It gets the ball rolling, and we should be talking about it as one way to show the party has some damned energy instead of us all just sitting around bitchin about Obama.

[bamahead]

possible ping

[bamahead]

I’m not sure whether to tell McCain he’s nuts or pat him on the back on this one. But it’s an interesting idea nonetheless.

[DemforBush]

I don’t know the technical hurdles involved here, but the idea does intrigue me.

[Larry Lucido]

Wow, what a convoluted mess. Fake headline in a blog misquoting an AFP story printed in yet another linked blog.

Can’t find the direct AFP link but here a direct link to the second blog with the whole story. Nothing about predators. Not a thing. Geez.

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_Senators_vow_help_for_Iran_dissi_06252009.html

Normally I am opposed to excerpting a blog. This idiot should have been excised, not excerpted.

[nuconvert]

I think he basically has the right idea that word needs to get out to all Iranians in order for them to be more organized, including people in more rural areas. The opposition needs to use audio and CD’s, DVD’s, whatever.

[bmwcyle]

That is the best idea I have ever heard from McCain.

[justlurking]

The concept is possible, although there are a few problems:

• The drone/access point must be visible above the horizon for anyone that wants to use it. That means that it has to be inside Iran, and I doubt the Iranian Air Force would ignore it.

• The low power levels typically used in WiFi would require users to move outside, onto the roof, etc. It wouldn't work well from inside a building, or under trees.

• The number of users in a typical metropolitan area would overwhelm a single drone overflying it by trying to transmit to it simultaneously and interfering with each other's uplink. It could be used for broadcast (i.e. Multicast), but there are already efficient ways to broadcast information.

There are a few companies developing drones specifically designed to fly at high altitude and provide Internet access to sparsely populated areas, but I wasn't able to find a URL quickly and I'm not aware of anyone that has actually deployed it.

But, the concept has been around for quite a while -- it's not an original thought.

[InterceptPoint]

I really don't think this is a practical idea. You would need special RF transmit and receive capability and an associated modem that would be subject to jamming by the Iranian authorities and, in any case, not available at your local Tehran Radio Shack.

OTOH, we should increase Voice of America type transmissions into Iran from Iraq or elsewhere and, if I were President, start smuggling in weapons to selected groups. Not going to happen with Barak (AKA Rodney King) Obama as President.

[nevergore]

Stupid idea....it would be so easy to jam a high school kid could do it.....

[puppypusher]

It could be done but the Iranian Government could jam those Wi-Fi signals quite easily.Otherwise I'd say Great Go and do it.Anything to P-off the Iranian Government.

We have been treating them with kids gloves for way too long.We still owe them some payback for the our troops they have killed in terror attacks they sponsored.

[B Knotts]

He deserves some credit. It’s an interesting idea. There are a lot of different planes that could be used; we wouldn’t have to use the most advanced models.

I don’t know how you get the uplink, though. Satellite requires some setup. You could maybe run the WAPs on solar, but that gets expensive. Maybe the planes are merely a delivery system for satellite Internet systems, and we rely on the locals to set them up (Farsi instructions included, of course).

[Costumed Vigilante]

Best idea he's had since choosing Sarah Palin. I do, however, recognize the danger of hosting such a worthwhile facility on the Predator. I think balloons or similar low-tech platforms would pose less risk of important American technology falling into radical Muslim hands (I mean, in addition to the radical Muslim hands currently squatting in the White House).

[Ipberg]

I don’t know if John McCain is serious but undoubtedly the CIA does things in the Mideast every day that would seem even more implausible.

[SunkenCiv]

[this part is NOT McCain's words]

Of course, the Predators -- or whatever other method -- could be taken down with missiles or fighter planes, but the basic idea is spot on: Give everyone free access to information at any cost... Maybe some crazy nerds with loads of money could work on something like that. You know, like Paul Allen putting a buttload of money, Steve Wozniak leading a new space-based Wi-Fi hardware standard, and John Carmack providing with cheap rockets to launch satellites.

Better to use UAVs to knock out the mullahcracy and help the Iranian people free themselves.

[dervish]

Although Israel is far away from Iran, it has significant capacity to help the demonstrators. It could use its communication satellites to break through the communications blackout the regime has attempted to enforce. Its Internet capabilities can be offered to the protesters to reopen closed networks. Israel could temporarily expand its radio broadcasts into the country and allow its airwaves to be used to broadcast events on the ground in real time so that protesters won’t have to rely on word of mouth to know what is happening or where things are leading.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276330/posts