It depends on the scale and location of the blast.
The main threat, as I see it, is it actually causing a cascade take-down of the power grid.
Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.
Posted on 01/31/2010 6:49:19 PM PST by edpc
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the nation will deliver a harsh blow to the "global arrogance" on this year's anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
"The Islamic Revolution opened a window to liberty for the human race, which was trapped in the dead ends of materialism," Ahmadinejad said during a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
"If the Islamic Revolution had not occurred, liberalism and Marxism would have crushed all human dignity in their power-seeking and money-grubbing claws. Nothing would have remained of human and spiritual principles," he added.
Ahmadinejad said that in the three decades of its history, the Islamic Revolution had inspired some great developments in the world.
The Iranian president made the remarks as the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution approaches.
Iranians are expected to pour into the streets on February 11 to celebrate the occasion in public rallies across the country, as they have done annually over the past three decades.
“I’ve got your number, doofus”
In addition to the "intellegence" failures of 9/11, the recent failed intellengence on the "crotch bomber", etc. etc., don't forget the "slam dunk" WMD's in Iraq (apparent) failure.
Even if it has gaurenteed information on the issue, the intellegence committe isn't going to tell the public (Congressional hearings that can leak like a sieve) all that they have on the issue. They may even intentionally mislead the elected politicians. Telling Congress, that Iran doesn't have nuclear grade bomb material is really proof of nothing.
On the issue of delivery, they don't need an ICBM to hit the U.S., and an EMP attack may be far more devistating that an actual nuke attack on a major city:
U.S. Intel: Iran Plans Nuclear Strike on U.S.
Tuesday, 29 Jul 2008 09:00 AMIran has carried out missile tests for what could be a plan for a nuclear strike on the United States, the head of a national security panel has warned.
In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee and in remarks to a private conference on missile defense over the weekend hosted by the Claremont Institute, Dr. William Graham warned that the U.S. intelligence community “doesn’t have a story” to explain the recent Iranian tests.
One group of tests that troubled Graham, the former White House science adviser under President Ronald Reagan, were successful efforts to launch a Scud missile from a platform in the Caspian Sea.
“They’ve got [test] ranges in Iran which are more than long enough to handle Scud launches and even Shahab-3 launches,” Dr. Graham said. “Why would they be launching from the surface of the Caspian Sea? They obviously have not explained that to us.”
Another troubling group of tests involved Shahab-3 launches where the Iranians "detonated the warhead near apogee, not over the target area where the thing would eventually land, but at altitude,” Graham said. “Why would they do that?”
Graham chairs the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack, a blue-ribbon panel established by Congress in 2001.
The commission examined the Iranian tests “and without too much effort connected the dots,” even though the U.S. intelligence community previously had failed to do so, Graham said.
“The only plausible explanation we can find is that the Iranians are figuring out how to launch a missile from a ship and get it up to altitude and then detonate it,” he said. “And that’s exactly what you would do if you had a nuclear weapon on a Scud or a Shahab-3 or other missile, and you wanted to explode it over the United States.”
The commission warned in a report issued in April that the United States was at risk of a sneak nuclear attack by a rogue nation or a terrorist group designed to take out our nation’s critical infrastructure.
"If even a crude nuclear weapon were detonated anywhere between 40 kilometers to 400 kilometers above the earth, in a split-second it would generate an electro-magnetic pulse [EMP] that would cripple military and civilian communications, power, transportation, water, food, and other infrastructure," the report warned.
While not causing immediate civilian casualties, the near-term impact on U.S. society would dwarf the damage of a direct nuclear strike on a U.S. city.
More: http://newsmax.com/Newsfront/iran-nuclear-plan/2008/07/29/id/324724
Is it (or something like it) going to happen around Feb 11th? Clearly we hope it doesn't. But, God only knows.
The best news would be the overthrow of the Islamic Tehran dictatorship.
TEHRAN — Iran hailed the successful launch of a home-produced satellite rocket on Wednesday amid Western concerns it is using its nuclear and space industries to develop atomic and ballistic weapons.
The Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer) rocket was carrying an "experimental capsule", state-owned Al-Alam television reported.
...
The milk-bottle shaped rocket, emblazoned in blue with the words "Satellite Carrier Simorgh," is equipped to carry a 100-kilogramme (220-pound) satellite 500 kilometres (310 miles) into orbit, the television report said."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jDJTHPpLUYb3WUzzphdkkrcO9HPA
I wonder what that kind of orbital lift would translate into range?
roger that...
X-55 cruise missiles (Russian made via the Ukraine)
The sheer psychological effect of the social networking sites going dead (for even a short period of time, as we've seen), would be extraordinary. A large section of our society wouldn't be able to mentally function for some time.
It depends on the scale and location of the blast.
The main threat, as I see it, is it actually causing a cascade take-down of the power grid.
I don’t believe, if they actually still do something next week, that a ballistic shot just to cause a surge in the power grid using an EMP would justify their effort...
I just don’t see that doing anything but pissing us and a few others off...
IF they do something, it’ll be for the whole smack...Something is going to have to be hit and disappear to satisfy the insanity of this regime...
What we need to hope for is a successful intercept of the rocket as soon as they launch it, or better yet, we pre-empt the launch by tomahawk-ing the damn thing if they start prepping the launch site again...
But what do I know...I’m not worried about restarting my administration...
I’m convinced that Obama doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence right now...Or ever...
We will not hear something like “If you prep another launch, and it is apparent you intend to launch on or about the 11th of this month, we will use the military forces of our country to prevent that launch.”
Reagan would have done it in a heartbeat, Both Bush’s would have been told that this is a good thing to say, and they’d do it...I even bet Clinton would have said something to possibly deter this from happening...Thats a longshot, but it fits in that realm of possibility...
Too bad we don’t have a leader that could be believable on a promise like that...
I believe it is a fair question to ask at this point that our elected officials start to pressure the administration to pull their heads out of their posteriors and address this issue...
Just my opinion...
FARS came up with this link in another thread...
http://noiri.blogspot.com/2010/02/why-we-should-be-worried-about-211-iran.html
From what has been spoon fed to us over the last 2-3 years is that it looked like they (Iran) would have a functional device by late 2009, early 2010...Those sources are scattered around and have been discussed on this website for a while as well...
Thats all we got, take it for what its worth...
Not like we can do anything about it anyway...Right???
Go find yourself another “newbie” to puff up your chest in front of.
I agree, I just wondered if there was real confirmation.
Do you read anything into the test firing of their satellite rocket? The article below mentions that the technology for that can also be used for missile delivery systems. Would their satellite technology have any role if they did an EMP attack? Is there any way to block the effects of an EMP attack, or could a satellite be used to scramble communications?
I agree with whoever said they think something big is going on. For Obama to side with the Israelis on anything just about means that He11 has frozen over.
And either Venezuela or Cuba could be launching grounds also, unless I’m mistaken. Ahmadinejad’s allies come pretty close to our homeland.
Somebody tell me I’m mistaken on this.
Put it this way . . .
via private communications . . .
I’m convinced that folks on the ground have verified the weapons cited.
I don’t consider it a stretch at all for me to believe my source of that private communications.
Thank you. Glad I know where I’m going if anything bad happens....
ONLY JESUS AFFORDS ANY SECURITY AND HOPE WHATSOEVER.
AND FOLKS NEED
TO KNOW HIM--KNOW BECAUSE THEY KNOW BECAUSE THEY KNOW
. . . BECAUSE THEY WALK AND TALK WITH HIM . . .
THE GREAT DECEPTION is still LOOMING . . . NOT even near FULLY implemented--just some groundwork carefully laid over decades if not millenia . . .
God have mercy on the lukewarm . . . Don't think most will make it--when the GREAT DECEPTION appears to "scientifically" undermine His deity . . . what will they do?
Ain’t it the truth granny, ain’t it the truth!<<<
We are living in a time when truth is stranger than fiction.
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