Posted on 03/02/2006 5:48:58 PM PST by SJackson
Will Iran’s nukes only kill Jews?
That’s the question Palestinians should be asking themselves. Because the answer is no.
There is no way to make a nuclear bomb that just kills Jews. There is no way to “wipe Israel off the map,” as Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sworn to do in a nuclear armageddon, without wiping out the Palestinians, as well.
A nuclear fireball detonated over Jerusalem would kill a substantial fraction of the city’s half-million Jews — and the city’s quarter-million Palestinians. But not only lives would be destroyed. Next to the Kaaba in Mecca, the most sacred site to Sunni Muslims in the world is the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, which comprise the Haram esh-Sharif, the noble sanctuary on top of Temple Mount.
A nuke would turn the noble sanctuary into radioactive dust. This is what Iran’s terrorist leaders are threatening to do. So all you Palestinians, all you Sunni Muslims out there, wherever you are, get the picture: Wiping Israel off the map means wiping your sacred noble sanctuary off the map, as well. It’s an inescapable package deal.
The Palestinians have more to fear from a nuclear attack on Israel than the Jews. Iran might be able to build a handful of firecracker fission (atom bomb) nukes in the 10- to 20-kiloton range. Set any of these off in an above-ground airburst to maximize lethality, and the heat fries everyone within a mile radius. The neutrons travel not much more and gamma rays much less, killing folks with radiation poisoning within a radius of less than 2 miles.
In other words, the radiation effects are very localized. Anyone 5 miles away would just get a sunburn. The greatest danger more than a few miles away is flying glass from blown-out windows caused by the shock wave. (Avoiding the flying glass was the purpose of duck-and-cover practice of diving under school desks back in the ’50s.)
Any effective nuking of Israel would thus have to score multiple detonations in Israel’s population centers. There is no way to do this in a country the size of New Jersey without devastating the Palestinian population at least as much as the Israeli.
In any nuclear attack on Israel, Iran would have to make a choice: Use its handful of bombs to hit the population centers or hit the Zechariah nuclear missile base southeast of Tel Aviv. Iran cannot do both.
It will take multiple direct hits to incapacitate Zechariah, collapsing the underground tunnels for the TELs (transporter erector launchers). These launch the Jericho-2 missile with a range of 2,000 miles carrying a nuke far more lethal than an Iranian firecracker.
Israel has at least 200, and possibly as many as 400, nuclear warheads, many of which are fusion (hydrogen bombs) in the range of 150 kilotons, many times more destructive than whatever the Iranians come up with. The Jericho-2 can easily reach Tehran or any other location in Iran. A nuclear strike by Iran upon Israel could precipitate the nuclear retaliatory annihilation of Iran.
The mullahs need to realize the name of Zechariah was chosen with a purpose for Israel’s missile base. It is Hebrew for: “God remembers with a vengeance.”
It is Sunni Muslims who need to be terrified of a nuclear Iran. And indeed, Ahmadinejad’s wipe-off-the-map bluster may be misdirection, for he must know that Israel and the Jews would survive his attack, and he and his country would not survive theirs. It is then more likely that Ahmadinejad intends to be an 800-pound Shiite nuclear gorilla, pushing around the Sunnis of the Middle East.
Sunni Saudi Arabia — hated by Iran’s mullacracy — would be defenseless. So would Sunni Jordan — hated by the mullahs. So would Dubai and the emirates. So would Kuwait. Iran is going to aim its nukes at them. They either become colonial subjects of Iran — or (get ready for this) make a deal with Israel and be placed under the protection of an Israeli nuclear umbrella.
They could try this with another nuclear neighbor, and a Sunni Muslim one at that: Pakistan. But Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is devoted to protection from India, and it is limited (around 25 or so low-kiloton fission warheads). An Israeli umbrella may prove an irresistible option.
“We can protect you from Iran,” should be Israel’s message to Sunni Arabs from Ramallah to Riyadh. “The only price for our protection is peace between us.”
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This is way to far ahead for most palestinians to be thinking. I've been told the probable path takes an Iranian missle over Syria, a shoot down could drop it in Damascus.
The real question is--do the Palestinians care? Or would they willing trade their own martyrdom for the destruction of Israel. I suspect many, and perhaps the majority, would be more than happy to do so.
If they hit Tel Aviv they would get a much higher ratio of Jews compared to Arabs. Of course the area would not be livable for the Arabs on whose half they liberated the area but then again life is not their forte. Of course the bombs hitting Tehran would sting a bit also.
This is why I don't believe Iran's threats to nuke Israel. Even their Arab cousins would shun them. And they know that a nuclear retaliation would be backed by almost the entire world.
They want something.
They should hope their 72 million virgins aren't on leave from Gabriel having a night on the town in Havana when the nukes go off.
Actually, since nuclear physics is "joooo science," I'd bet the bomb would kill only joooo-haters.
Nobody cares about the Palestinians...least of all the Arabs or Persians.
Why do you think Egypt and Jordan keep them in camps? Because they care?
The real problem is that Islam (at least as it is practiced in the Middle East) places absolutely no value on human life and at the same time glorifies death. So, rational thinking doesn't do any good here. The jihadists don't care how many Muslims are killed as long as they can kill more Jews and Christians. The concept of "mutually assured destruction" does nothing here.
It was this same type of thinking that caused us to be blindsided by the Japanese kamikazes during World War II. That is why the United States and Israel really need to start planning for preemption with Iran.
One nuke in Tel Aviv is all it would take to end the state of Israel.
Would Iranian nukes kill just Jews?
Palestinian response:
What's a 'nuke"?
Their response, KILL!
I don't understand the question.
Their response, KILL!
Israel?
Their response, KILL.
If we die, their response, KILL!
Ask a Palestinian if they are happy, and most will reply with "kill".
You my FRiend are a small thinker.
One nuke on Tel Aviv is all it would take for civilization to disintegrate to mindful personal survival.
Iran would win....
Not to mention the fact that Iran could care less about killing a bunch of Sunni Arabs.
Vaporization of Tel Aviv would not touch Israel. Iran, however, would get pounded from all sides and when it is reborn might be known as Persia once more.
They could care less if they themselves all died if the result was the destruction of Israel. There is no doubt in my mind that they will use nukes the minute they have them, they will not bother to test them or anything like that. The sooner we eliminate their capabilities the better.
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