Posted on 11/13/2011 10:13:55 AM PST by drewh
The potential for war with Iran is being hotly debated, in light of the new report about that country’s alleged nuclear arsenal.
“The regime in Iran poses a significant threat to regional and global peace,” Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird told reporters, responding to the release of the International Atomic Energy Agency report. The report, released Wednesday, laid out the most details yet of Iran’s alleged effort to build a nuclear arsenal.
But there has been some questioning the sources of that report.
And now, some lawmakers in the U.S. are suggesting that Iran might have some ideas on what to do with those nuclear weapons (if they do indeed have them).
They claim that Iran’s military and Revolutionary Guard are practicing for the detonation of a nuclear weapon near space, the ultimate goal being an Electromagnetic Pulse attack on the U.S.
Republican Representative Trent Franks says Iran is practicing launching a ballistic missile from a vessel in the Caspian Sea and they also have tested high-altitude explosions with their Shahab-111 missile.
“Terrorists think that electromagnetic pulse or some type of attack is their ultimate asymmetric weapon,” he told Aviation Week recently. “Iran’s (actions) clarify that jihadist nation’s intent for the U.S. and Israel.”
But how real is the threat from Iran? That is unclear.
If Iran had the bomb, would it use it on an attack against the U.S., as that would likely mean the destruction of Iran in a retaliatory strike?
Whatever the case, in Ottawa, the Harper government has been talking a hard line. “Canada is deeply disturbed by the actions of the current Iranian regime,” Baird said. “The information presented in the report is only the latest of a series of grave concerns our government has with the regime.”
“Canada will continue to work with its like-minded allies to take the necessary action for Iran to abandon its nuclear program,” Baird said. ”We encourage others to join in this effort. It is not a question of if, but to what extent, we will act in response to this report.”
Heaven help most city dwellers once the Eat Better Today (EBT) cards stop working.
EMP ping
You are correct. My fiancee’s nephew works in high level consulting position for the Army and NASA. He told us their number one fear is an EMP. They are terrified of it.
10 Iranian Missile Engineers Visited N. Korea:Sankei reports(check on NK’s Chinese equipments)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1658850/posts
(07/01/06)
S. Korea, U.S. verifying reports on test of new N.K. missile in Iran: source
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1834307/posts
(4,000 kilometer range—will reach the Vatican—May 16th, 2007)
US confirms Iran launch of first home-built satellite
afp ^ | 2-03-09 | staff
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2177582/posts
Iran Satellite Launch Heightens Missile Development Concerns
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2009
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52939
Iran hails successful launch of satellite rocket
Posted on Wed 03 Feb 2010 02:51:50 AM MST
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2443266/posts
Excerpt:
“However, the effects produced by a nuclear explosion were not fully realized until the “Johnston Island Test” in 1962. This nuclear blast had a yield of 1.4 megatons at an altitude of 250 miles. The explosion damaged a number of low earth orbit satellites and caused malfunctions and early failure of others. Another effect that was noted during the blast was a blackout up to 600 miles away of high frequency radio communications that lasted for hours. It was caused by disruption of the ionosphere. It also popped circuit breakers, street lights went out, burglar alarms rang, and power lines went down in Honolulu, about 800 miles away. In Nov. 1962, all above ground testing was halted and our testing and analysis was limited to underground testing, analysis of the existing atmospheric test data, nonnuclear simulation, and theoretical calculations.”
An EMP 250 miles high over Chicago will take out the electrical grid for the entire USA. Damage to the huge step up and step down transformers could NOT be repaired.
75 to 90% death rate in USA. See 2008 EMP Commission Report to Congress. Chairman Graham personlly estimates a 80% death rate nation wide but almost 100% East of the Mississippi.
Then, from time to time, a few of our coastal cities will be nuked by bad people using the Club K container missile system that launches 4 250 mile cruise missiles from the deck of a ship, a truck or rail car.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIgvGpH2smY
Our mentality is like the old west, the bad guy shoots first then the good guy takes him out. But this time Matt Dillon faces cannon so big that it takes him out along with all of Dodge City. The good guys just die. The USA will be history.
See Shieldact.com
Iran’s Space Program is building to put multiple satellites at 250 plus miles above Earth. If they succeed they will take out the USA and Europe in hopes that world conflagration will bring about the coming of the 12th Imam. Meaning, THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT RETALIATION. MUTUAL ASSURED DESTRUCTION DOES NOT WORK WITH RELIGIOUS FANATICS.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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I don't doubt this, I doubt they'd go that far, but I hope we're prepared.
If the missiles are in a fixed land base in Venezuela, we can find them and hit them. I don’t panic about that.
Iran doesn't have enough fission bombs to make anything more than a harrassment attack. An EMP is not a killer weapon. It's supposed to be a precursor to other bombs.
However, if they are on a ship approaching -- or cruising on the margin of -- the U.S., there's not a damn thing we can do about it.
And without that, short of extraordinary measures which I will NOT go into now, we're complete toast.
But even with those measures, we would be far too disorganized to even attempt any kind of a conventional counterattack.
NO cheers, unfortunately.
I don’t think a ship can get close enough, based on what I know, and I don’t think Iran has missiles that can hit the U.S. and a nuke. If an EMP attack were easy, it would have been done by now.
As I posted on another thread, Starfish Prime was at 240 miles. Iran has already orbited a satellite at 160 miles, and is in the works to orbit one at 22,000 miles.
I think that would do nicely.
Cheers!
Thanks for the link. I still see an EMP as a significant threat.
Since we still have nuke subs and they must have retaliatory instructions, and communications would be reduced, I wouldn’t think that the current ‘commander-in-chief’ could do much to stop the trigger from being pulled after an EMP attack.
Iran with a satellite launch capability has no further need for the “Scud in a Bucket” trick. Their military journals have published lengthy discussions about EMP, so they’re fully aware of the effect.
Also, Iran could not risk a test blast to see if its nukes work, since that would give away the fact that they’ve got them.
I suspect our first indication that Iran has built nukes is when one goes off in orbit above Pittsburgh.
I bet the Japanese were saying that right before Hiroshima.
Traceable how?
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