Iran endorses nuclear EMP attack on United States

Washington Examiner ^ | March 19, 2015 | by Paul Bedard

[familyop]

Suspected for years of plotting to dismantle the U.S. electric grid, American officials have confirmed that Iranian military brass have endorsed a nuclear electromagnetic pulse explosion that would attack the country's power system.

American defense experts made the discovery while translating a secret Iranian military handbook, raising new concerns about Tehran's recent nuclear talks with the administration.

The issue of a nuclear EMP attack was raised in the final hours of this week's elections in Israel when U.S. authority Peter Vincent Pry penned a column for Arutz Sheva warning of Iran's threat to free nations.

"Iranian military documents describe such a scenario — including a recently translated Iranian military textbook that endorses nuclear EMP attack against the United States," he wrote.

A knowledgable source said that the textbook discusses an EMP attack on America in 20 different places.

Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks, who is leading an effort to protect the U.S. electric grid from an EMP attack, has recently made similar claims based on the document translated by military authorities.

Once sneered at by critics, recent moves by Iran and North Korea have given credibility to the potential EMP threat from an atmospheric nuclear explosion over the U.S.

Pry has suggested ways for Iran to deliver a nuclear attack: by ship launched off the East Coast, a missile or via satellite.

Either way the result could be destruction of all or part of the U.S. electric grid, robbing the public of power, computers, water and communications for potentially a year.

Frank Gaffney, founder and president of the Center for Security Policy, said the threat to the grid can also come from solar activity.

He has been pushing Washington and state governments to take the relatively inexpensive move to protect the electric grid, though his concern is from a nuclear attack by Iran or North Korea.

"It is increasingly frightening," he said. "We have to get started on this."

He noted that Iran's top military leader recently announced that he was ready for war with the U.S.

"We are ready for the decisive battle against the U.S. and the Zionist regime," Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hassan Firouzabadi told Iran's Fars News Agency in 2014.

Below is from Pry's column that discusses an Iran EMP attack:

Iran armed with nuclear missiles poses an unprecedented threat to global civilization.

One nuclear warhead detonated at high-altitude over the United States would blackout the national electric grid and other life sustaining critical infrastructures for months or years by means of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). A nationwide blackout lasting one year, according to the Congressional EMP Commission, could cause chaos and starvation that leaves 90 percent of Americans dead.

Iranian military documents describe such a scenario--including a recently translated Iranian military textbook that endorses nuclear EMP attack against the United States.

Thus, Iran with a small number of nuclear missiles can by EMP attack threaten the existence of modernity and be the death knell for Western principles of international law, humanism and freedom. For the first time in history, a failed state like Iran could destroy the most successful societies on Earth and convert an evolving benign world order into world chaos.

[butterdezillion]

Linda Jordan and I have both posted concrete records - images, FOIA responses, statutes, etc. You NEVER even address those things but just make a stink to keep people away.

I’m not going to respond in this thread any more; the subject is too serious to be sabotaged. When you’ve got the records of the Iranian military saying what some people have been saying for a long time, it sort of ceases to be the “crazy conspiracists making up fan-fiction”. Like a lot of things have already been documented beyond the ability to CREDIBLY say it’s just “crazy conspiracists making up fan-fiction”.

Of course there are those who will still keep calling it that and trying to keep the evidence out of the conversation...

[humblegunner]

Yes.. finding “evidence” every time a firebug lights a fire is very important.

Ranks right up there with efforts to convince people that water is wet.

[humblegunner]

You NEVER even address those things but just make a stink to keep people away.

I guess you are referring to Hawaiian public records stuff.
True enough, it doesn't really interest me enough to delve deeply
into it other than to point out where you are going off the rails.

Looky here.. I can't alter or remove your posts.

I can't pull or delete a thread.

How in the HELL am I "keeping people away" from any damned thing?

Your posts show up just as well either with or without criticism.

And your blog is a danged old mess.

[WildHighlander57]

familyop, humblegunner, All

Here are some articles illustrating the breadth and depth of the Iranian threat; your comments are welcome:

Hostage crisis article:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2236006/posts

Ahmadinejad a captor back in 1979:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1901188/posts

From someone who was there:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1683085/posts

Threats to Israel:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3050525/posts

Involvement with 1996 Khobar Towers attack:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3268371/posts

Iranian Imad Mughniyah planned 1996 Khobar Towers and mid-1980s Beirut barracks bombings:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3255309/posts

Iran’s Rafsanjani names Muqtada al Sadr chief of Iraqi Hezbollah in 2003; Mughniyeh organized Beirut barracks and American Embassy attacks in mid 1980s:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/975073/posts

Threat to the U.S. itself; 2012 article:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/20/iranian-militias-pose-threat-to-us/#!

Iran influence spreading to Latin America; 2014 article:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3125379/posts

Iran supporting terrorism worldwide; 2014 congressional hearing:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3129743/posts

[WildHighlander57]

http://www.dcclothesline.com/2015/03/20/iran-endorses-nuclear-emp-attack-on-united-states-while-obama-clings-to-preposterous-argument/

Has timeline of 0’s statements about Iran and shows his lies...

[WildHighlander57]

Articles about the EMP effect & threat

http://www.wsj.com/articles/james-woolsey-and-peter-vincent-pry-the-growing-threat-from-an-emp-attack-1407885281

Comments on this article are interesting:

http://www.informationweek.com/government/cloud-computing/emp-debunked-the-jolt-that-could-fry-the-cloud/d/d-id/1315481

How it works:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/e-bomb2.htm

Comments welcome.

[familyop]

Thanks, WildHighlander57 and EBH!

[And thanks to all who contributed and pinged others.]

[familyop]

The comment on “shorter wires” “in microcircuitry” in “EMP, Debunked: The Jolt That Could Fry The Cloud” (John Barnes, Information Week), is not true, by the way. I know that from military experience, including carrying small field radios that weighed about 40 pounds each and had vacuum tubes in them. I also have a background in electronics and electrical work. Under a strong enough pulse, some kinds of micro-components and solid state components would be at risk. Generally, any components that wouldn’t tolerate high current and/or voltage spikes would be at risk without measures taken in advance.

But it should be common knowledge by now. There are also some important differences between EMPs caused by nuclear weapons and coronal mass ejections. There are plenty of old reports available around the Net on EMP effects from nuclear weapons for anyone who would like to study.

[Sun]

I wonder how well this would work for folks who have a well; made by the Amish:

https://www.lehmans.com/p-1384-lehmans-own-galvanized-well-bucket.aspx

[familyop]

They’ve worked well for many with wells that aren’t very deep. Portable generator inlets and switches work well for deeper wells, as do PV solar powered pump systems.

Either kind of system needs a cistern near the surface for storing water, though, for much less fuel, maintenance and bother with the generator system and no batteries needed for the solar system (water stored instead of electric power). And either will need gravity feed to the dwelling or a light duty booster pump with pressure switch (and expansion tank preferred by some).

[Sun]

Thanks. I think I’ll order one, as I have a shallow well. They are inexpensive, and it’s certainly cheap insurance for “just in case.”

But what’s wrong with having an over the ground tank?

[rawcatslyentist]

I wonder just what words in “Death to America” is causing all the confusion about what we must do?

[WildHighlander57]

Thanks for the clarification about the ‘shorter wires’, that they are indeed vulnerable.

I recall the newer IC’s are quite ESD sensitive, would that also be a factor?

I would think the EMP from a nuke would be more powerful than one from a CME....

nuke is closer, and then the intensity per square cm varies as the square of the distance...

[familyop]

"But what’s wrong with having an over the ground tank?"

That's a good point. I live in a very cold climate and have put layers of plastic, styro-foam and from 1 1/2 to 3 feet of earth over cisterns to keep them from freezing (lows in the minus-20s to minus-30s depending on elevation, some areas with high winds and spraying ice). They require either one or two risers for those depths (for maintenance access). Above-ground cisterns might be good in places where freezing is not possible. Other things to consider:

* Tank needs to be small enough to allow complete water replacement every few days--bacterial/protozoa hazards.

* Bacterial risk goes up with warmer water in the tank, unless it is used and replaced faster.

* There's also water system security to consider.

I like a 600-gallon, concrete, in-ground tank (with float switch) for a small family. Others like cisterns up to 1250 gallons or more. All require periodical water testing and sterilization (bleach-water mix ratios prescribed by at least some states). States and private labs do water tests, and there are water testing kits available for order through Internet. The standard test kits are cheap. Radon test kits are higher. Patience and close attention to instructions are required.

Little aside here. Small, above-ground tanks are also great in some warm climates for hot water supply. Colder climates require solar water collectors (with drainback, open loop with much protection against freezing) or antifreeze collectors (closed loop). Big savings on natural gas or propane there. Home-built solar water and space heating systems pay for themselves pretty fast.

Have fun. It's pretty neat stuff to know.

[familyop]

"I recall the newer IC’s are quite ESD sensitive, would that also be a factor?"

Yes, simply because they are fragile against low current spikes with low voltage potentials (e.g., as provided by human hands in dry, cool ambients). With atmosphere being the conduit, cases and lines (appliance ground/neutral) can receive wild waveforms. Some engineers and even technicians would know much more than me about this.

But I suspect that lightning arrestors or strong surge protectors, good grounds and shielding around installed appliances would be helpful. ...grounded shielding around inactive, stored components (with innermost insulation--e.g., layers of polyethylene--being a little thicker around stored components to avoid capacitance reach).

Again, my education on the matter is limited, but I have put some time into learning and work on the technical side (no calculus or formal physics here). So, we discuss longer waves. What about shorter waves?

There are also human considerations like those in a recent comment in another thread by lentulusgracchus. There's earth, but various materials could be layered to afford more lightweight protection. There are also oxide and metallic paints used by some to reflect/absorb rays (higher frequencies, a human consideration), electromagnetic waves (lower frequencies, equipment consideration), etc.

Generally, my sparsely educated guess is that power densities and/or exposure periods of longer waves from electromagnetic pulses in any likely event wouldn't be strong and long enough to hurt us (3 Hz to 30 PHz Ghz, or 100,000 kilometers to 10 nanometers). We would be more concerned about 10 nanometer (low frequency end of x-rays, 30 PHz) and shorter waves (down to the shorter non-end of gamma rays).

Going to take a short break with some outdoor work now, to let the muscles in this redneck skull cool off and shrink back to normal. ;-)

[familyop]

Hmmm. Waves...laser beams...education. Here’s something from the center of America’s crib of technical genius, thanks to environmental influences and maybe even an occasional genetic turn... ;-)

Ozark Mountain Daredevils - Chicken Train (Live 1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSkN9m7kh9A

[familyop]

"I recall the newer IC’s are quite ESD sensitive, would that also be a factor?"

On second thought, though, when such ICs are in a circuit, the sub-components and lines do collectively survive quite a bit of current. Should we be more concerned about individual components like ICs in a grounded circuit or about whole appliances? It seems that we should more likely consider cases (appliance grounds) going high.

[WildHighlander57]

Love it!

now I gotta go and find the CD :)

[familyop]

Catchy, eh? Here’s one that took little space on an album.

Ozark Mountain Daredevils - Spaceship Orion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iiAX6xBWxo

Moved from the Ozarks to Kansas City for work back then (’70s). Here’s one that was very popular on KPRS: a black station in K.C. They liked it more than the usual funk, years after it was popular in the Ozarks. Don’t know why. I lived in that neighborhood for several years to be closer to a job.

OZARK MOUNTAIN DAREDEVILS- “ JACKIE BLUE “
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARKNTDuNmk8

[Sun]

Thanks for the information.

With your knowledge I bet you, and your loved ones, will be among the safest people in the country, no matter what happens.

Hope Americans elect a good president next time around, and hope nothing widespread, and horrible, happens until then.