Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is in town this week to discuss with White House and Pentagon officials what to do about Irans nuclear program. Accompanying Barak is Israeli Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz; hes the former IDF chief who set off a firestorm recently when he said an Israeli military strike against Iran is unavoidable. Current IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi was here last week and met with his Pentagon counterpart, Admiral Michael Mullen. Ashkenazi reportedly said he favors a diplomatic solution, but also issued the standard declaration that all options must be prepared for stopping Irans nuclear program.
There has been considerable debate about whether Israel could even carry out an effective air strike against Irans nuclear program. Analysts say there are too many factories, labs and reactor sites dispersed too widely across the country. According to a 2006 paper published by two MIT doctoral candidates (one of the most thorough pieces of analysis available), it would be impossible for Israel to knock out the entire Iranian nuclear program but the target set could be narrowed to the most critical facilities. They identify the critical nodes as: the Esfahan uranium conversion facility, the gas centrifuges at the Natanz enrichment facility and the heavy water plant and future plutonium production reactors at Arak.
The MIT analysts identify Natanz as the most difficult target because much of the facility is buried deep and covered with layers of concrete. Israeli bombs would have to penetrate the earth covering, bore through the concrete layers and then dump enough bombs into the hole to generate blast pressures that could damage or destroy the equipment inside. They figure the strike package would have to drop a combination of roughly 24 BLU-109 2,000 lb. and BLU-113 5,000 lb. bunker busters on Natanz. The facilities at Esfahan are not buried and those at Arak are not hardened, so those targets sets would be relatively simple to destroy with no more than 24 2,000 pound GPS guided bombs.
What does Israel have as far as deep strike weapons? The MIT folks count at least 25 F-15I (the Israeli version of the F-15E Strike Eagle) and 20–50 F-16I, both airframes configured specifically for deep strike missions. Israel also has a large number of F-16s that could be fitted as strike aircraft, Wild Weasel jamming aircraft and over 40 F-15A and C versions to escort the bombers. Developments in precision targeting, specifically GPS guided bombs, means all Israeli aircraft carry bombs considerably more accurate than those used in the Osirak raid. They envision a 50 plane strike package evenly split between F-15I and F-16I aircraft.
Then the question becomes how well can Iran defend its airspace. Iranian aircraft are a mix of the old and the very old. Irans most modern fighter is the Mig-29, of which they have maybe 40. They also have a large number of 1970s era F-4, F-14, F-5 and some newer Chinese built F-7M and F-6. Iranian fighters would be operating over friendly territory, advantageous when they need to refuel or rearm. They could also draw on ground control radar to guide them into favorable attack positions against IDF aircraft roaming Iranian air space. If the Iranian aircraft could get into firing position against Israeli bombers, which is admittedly a big if, they have sufficiently modern air-to-air missiles that they could probably down a few.
Its not Irans fighter jets that could pose the real challenge, as the Iranian air force is more of an antique show, says David Ochmanek, an analyst with RAND who directs an ongoing study for the U.S. Air Force that examines future threats from Iran. The real threat to an attacker, he says, are Iranian surface-to-air missiles. There are reports that the Iranians field some of the newer Russian-built double digit SAMs, such as the SA-10, though not the newer and more potent SA-20 (the newer Russian designation is S-300 and S-400). The S-300 is considered by some accounts to be comparable to the U.S.-built Patriot air defense missile.
Ochmanek says the double digit SAMs are far more capable than the earlier SA-2, SA-3 and SA-6. The newer systems have high powered radars that are difficult to jam and more powerful, faster missiles. Barry Watts, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington thinktank, and a Vietnam-era fighter pilot, says if pilots could spot the smoke trails of the earlier generation of SAMs they could outmaneuver them because of the G-force limitations of those older missiles. With the latest generation SAMs outmaneuvering doesnt work. Those missiles went from ten G missiles, to about thirty or forty Gs, which means the missiles turn rates are vastly improved, he said. Coupled with the new powerful radars, if the missile is locked up on you and its guiding, the only thing you can do is pull the ejection handles and get out of the airplane.
Iran has also reportedly bought the fairly sophisticated Tor-M1 SA-15 Gauntlet, a short-range mobile SAM system. The Tor M-1s greatest strength is its mobility, which, because of Irans sizeable and mountainous terrain, could make for a very difficult target because it can pop-up almost anywhere. Iran lacks the resources to protect all of its air space, so it relies on point defense, deploying its anti-aircraft guns and missiles around strategically important sites, Ochmanek says.
The MIT folks figured that to carry out an effective strike, twelve F-15Is would have to arrive over Natanz, six F-16I over Esfahan and five F-16I over Arak. Their analysis said that a 50 plane strike package would provide the Israelis significant attrition cushion. The papers authors note that to cause the operation to fail, Iranian air defenses would have to down close to 40% of the attacking Israeli jets, an attrition rate that would exceed even the disastrous U.S. raid on Ploesti in Word War II. The MIT analysts conclude that largely because of advances in precision weaponry, Israeli leaders have access to the technical capability to carry out the attack, and that it would be no more risky than that of the 1981 raid on Osirak.
If a couple of students from MIT came up with that conclusion, the Israeli intelligence and military communities probably have a fairly high degree of confidence in the success of air strikes. The Israelis likely believe they can set back any progress the Iranians have made in nuclear enrichment by at least five years. What that would buy Israel and the rest of the world in terms of changing Tehrans policies is anybodys guess.
{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
My guess would be that the Americans use their long range cruise missiles to take out SAM sites, radar sites, ect and use B-2s to take out the deep targets while Israel takes out the fighters and the non buried targets.
Jack
Don’t discount commando raids to disprupt SAM and AAA sites as well as sub launched cruise missiles.
I doubt we would directly act in support of Israel. It is far too useful to turn a blind eye to their activities and say “Hey, what do you want us to do about it? Those Israelis… they so crazy.”
My guess is that the Israeli’s won’t just bomb nuclear sites, but they will attack the command structure in Iran as well, turn the country upside down. It will take weeks of bombing and will stop only after the international community has screamed and cried as loud as they can. That is the best way to deal with Iran, turn them upside down like Iraq during desert storm, cause widespread social distress, and come back in a decade to clean up the mess. This is the only way to fix the middle east. If they were to only bomb the nuclear sites, they would be rebuilt in a matter of years and the country would be harder to break. If they can destroy the command structure of the country they will set them back decades. Oil wil be $300/barrel.
There is also one more possible target… Iranian refineries. Irans military & economy could possibly grind to a halt. Potentially resulting in less funding for Irans nuclear project. And while civil outrage towards Israel might be harsh in the short term… economic hardship & anger for incompetence, could cause feelings of revolt amongst the Iranian populace.
I know it won’t happen but it would be something to see Israel throw a wild card and use a few conventionally tipped ballistic missile in a decapitation strike.
It would throw one hell of a marker out there (especially if successful). No I don’t really think the current crop of Israeli leadership has the sack to go there. The benefit would be letting Iran know that strikes could continue at will/unstoppable as fast as Israel could pump out the missiles. Would let the world know Israel would not allow tin horns talking about there goal/version of holocaust.
Sometimes when you are the little guy trapped in a box with a bunch of predators your only hope is to be understood as a little crazy and quick with the steel just lookin for it. Not good to actually be crazy but just give the impression of being so to the predators looking for some prey.
I don’t think they’d use medium range missiles on Iran, something about that reeks of hypocrisy.
It’s my opinion that the Zionist terrorist government Israel has created enough commotion in the on this planet and currently in the middle east that it is time for the American people to unite and declare political, commercial, financial and diplomatic ties. We should demand that the collection of pompous primadonas that were voted into office and the sorriest collection of government officials this nation has ever had, according to polls published does not speak for a majority of Americans. They speak for Democrat and Republican parties that are infected with Council of Foreign Relations, Tri-lateral Commission, Bilderberg stooges and other Domestic enemies who do not comply with the provisions of our constitution or respect and abide by the laws they legislate.
I’ve been hearing about attacking Iran for as long as there was talk about invading Afghanistan, then invading and occupying Iraq. After all the mammal manure is boiled down, it’s not about terrorism, it’s not about oil. It’s about money, getting the Islamic countries into the Rothschild debt system like out Federal Reserve System; it’s about establishing flunky governments into those countries and to reduce the threat to Israel. Americans probably don’t remember when the Shah was installed in Iran, I’m sure thr Iranians do. Which side did wall street and the world bank finance during the Iran Iraq war, both sides.
If Israel Zionists attack Iran it’s time for American voters and tax payers to cut the umbilical of foreign relations. For the USA Inc to assist would be the biggest of the four mistakes they have made so far in instigating military action and using 911 “Pearl Harbor” incident to generate permission from said voters and tax payers. Iran has treaties with both Russia and China.
John Spooner
Ghost Trooper
John Spooner:
First, I want to ask you to treat everybody with respect. My believe is that a lot of the world’s problems can be solved by treating other people with respect, maybe even moreso if they are your advisaries.
Secondly, maybe you can explain to me why a oil rich country like Iran puts billions of dollars in a nuclear project, when Iran has a screaming inflation, and lots of people live in poverty.
Third, I do not like the Iranian political system at all. I recent every bit of it. I favor Trias Politica. But I also know that the Iranian system also gives a calm in a volatil middle east. So I don’t like the idea of bombing a country if you don’t know what the future of the country is going to bring. My believe is that you cannot bomb a country to submission if you not follow up with a ground campaign of some sort. Especially when the country you are attacking a country that totally is controlling the public believes/minds.
The question is whether a single large package would suffice, or a week or two of continuous attack is required.
A short attack would be entirely dependent on intel of the moment without chance of follow-up. The losses to the strike package would probably be low, but it also takes a lot to hit the correct targets the first time. Israel is very capable of this attack, and it worked against Iraq, but still has serious limitations.
A sustained attack could benefit from special ops, intel gathered during the attack, and lots of opportunity for follow-up for missed and new targets. But it would have to continue in the face of the inevitable political demands for the raid to stop once it has started.
I am doubtful that Israel can sustain a prolonged attack, for both military and political reasons. Only the USA could sustain a durable attack. The other neighbors in the region are hardly capable of anything. But Israel has the most political freedom in pulling the trigger. We shall see what happens.
Florida, Georgia, Ohio & Michigan.
SPOONER: You might find THIS LINK useful.
The Iranian military has some very smart leaders. They aren’t stupid like alot of their neighbors. They still have some generals and high ranking officals who were trained in the US and know western tactics very well. To think this attack would be a cake walk for either the US or Israel would be a mistake.
Iran will not sit back and take an attack like Iraq did time and again. There will probably be a price to pay for whoever attacks them. And who would blame them for trying to defend themselves….
J
Maybe Israel could disarm its nukes or the US can then
1. Cut off all aid to Israel saving thew american taxpayer a few billion a year to, say buy planes and guns for our own military
then
2. Bomb the crap out of the Iranians if they then refuse to disarm.
It was not the Iraqis, Iranians, Syrians, or Pakastanis who introduced nukes to south-west asia.
I say de nuke the WHOLE area. It is not as if the israelis cannot militarily dominate any combination of their neighbors at will. I just do not see why I have to pay for it.
Blowing up the plants will not help. Israel will have to take out the scientists behind the project in order to put a stop to it. A few key kidnappings would be far more damaging then any bomb strike.
Israel brought it upon themselves by having nukes. What did it expect it’s neighbors to do? Nothing. If I was a leader of a country with a neighbor that had nukes I sure as hell would do everything I could to get nukes. It’s a leaders duty to protect his people.
Jeff
Iran would want nukes whether Israel had them or not. And the reason is very simple. Iran is Islamic and Israel is Jewish. Religious differences is the driving force.
The Iranians should have launched a preemptive strike on Israel by now. Perhaps they do not have the capability but they are definitely justified in ding so. Israel has been threatening to attack Iran and has been training for it for a long time.
I hope that Israel tries to attack Iran and that it is a complete failure. I don’t want to see any country have nuclear weapons, especially not Israel.
Sam:
Israel has had nuclear weapons for the past 20-30 years.
Israel had nukes before the Yom Kippur war in 73. Threats of nuclear warfare is what motivated the US to back israel to the hilt and even a standoff with the russians.
Just ask Vanunu about the ISraeli nuke program. Oh yeah, he is forbiddent to speak with foreigners.
I call
I don’t think anybody is saying that nobody in the region can have nukes, Pakistan has nukes but they have a government that participates in international politics. The incentive package offered to Iran includes membership in world government organizations, it would be a fix for their problems, it would make their citizens happier than they have ever been, the world wants them to open the door and start being a citizen of the world. Iran just wants to hole up like the unabomber and build bombs. That’s the problem. It is the powers that be in Iran that demonize western politics because it is a threat to their stranglehold on the country. If you want to know how the Iranians feel, why don’t you check the Iranian blogs…
http://blogsbyiranians.com/
The difference between Israel and Iran is that Israel has had nukes for 20 years and never used and would not use them except in the case of a “broken arrow” situation in defense of their very existence. Iran has threatened to erase Israel from the map. Does anyone not see the difference in those two stances? Sure are a lot of Israel haters around here. I guess the US can only be friendly with democratic countries that are not Jews. Jihadists and religious dictators are okay though. Hmm. Interesting.
Let’s bear in mind that Iran isn’t limited to SCUDs and fighter-bombers as delivery platforms. Are you going to sink every merchant ship, destroy every aircraft, and strafe every donkey herd? A country with the capability and intent to use suicide attacks doesn’t have to rely on “conventional” delivery systems.
Israel knows this, and it probably informs their intent to keep nuclear weapons out of Iranian hands.
You have to remember that at this point we have no actual evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons — and that misinterpretation of the old Khomeini quote has been going around far too long.
.
An unprovoked attack on another state is not something that would be taken lightly, and would push Israel further into paraiah territory. It would also strongly encourage others to start developing nuclesr weapons, since, as with North Korea, that seems to be the only way to forestall an attack.
.
You also have to ask what the other consequences of such an attack would be. $200 a barrel is just the start, ad the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan might deteriorate rather seriously.
.
We can only hope it never happens.
I’ve been reading for a couple of years now that a military strike against Iran’s Nuke program will be of “limited” effect. If you only concentrate on the sites that is correct. BUT if you hit the personnel-chemists/physicist/engineers, then you’ll be much more effective. It’s simple math, 2-5 years to build a reactor-24 years to grow/educate a scientist. And you don’t have to get all of them, just enough to scare the rest away. Remember Mr. Bull-the Canadia supergun builder?
Pleuris,
1. In my book respect is conditional and variable. One condition being respect has to be earned. The variable is is it has to be earned by action, not by verbal flatulent.
2. Developing nuclear powered electrical services what s country uses after they have sold all their crude oil. Poverty is a result of being in debt to the world bank ore of it subsidiaries like the USA Inc.generated debt to the Federal Reserve System.
3. If you don’t like the Iranian government don’t live in that country. Have you read the Protocols of the Elders of Zion? You may not like living here in the North American Union when they take over!
John Spooner
Ghost Trooper
John Spooner,
Did you just refer to the Protocols of Zion as a legitimate resource? I sure hope not because that would destroy any credibility you had left.
Excluding using little boys to clear minefields,Iran has never really had a history of being suicide bombers,at least not like what’s being used in Lebanon,Iraq,Afghanistan,etc. It may just be my opinion,but I think that Iran would be a more honorable opponent in battle than what we are facing now. It’s hard to twist Iranians into monstrous boogeymen. To me,they are equal to the Argentines of the 70s & the Falkland War as far as despotic regime goes.
Anyway,like I said before,Israel needs to worry more about the Palestinians,Lebanon(Hezbollah),Syria,Jordan(especially if the king gets overthrown),& (ally or not,) Egypt.Egypt & Syria both have missiles that can reach all of Israel. Lebanon & Jordan both have sizable Palestinian populations who could join with the Palestinians in the occupied territories & in Israel itself to sabotage Israel’s infrastructure & throw up roadblocks for Israel’s reservists to reach their units & equipment.
Iran currently has nothing to threaten Israel with.Israel needs to confront the above mentioned local threats before they even talk about doing anything to Iran(by that time,Iran will most likely be joined up in a military alliance with Russia,Turkey,the Central Asian (former Soviet) Republics,maybe even Pakistan with combined troops already in place to run through Iraq,a dried up Euphrates River,& onwards to the Megiddo Valley with Libya & the Sudan(along with fellow African Union allies) advancing from the south through a bombed out Egypt.Don’t get me started on China & her allies bringing up the rear after Russia-Iran-Turkey.
you should bow to jews..or be killed. we are the chosen one. time is on our side. you all gonna be next.
Quite possibly the worst thread in DefenseTech history.
Attacking Iran has no legitimate military value.There is nothing whatsoever to be gained by attacking Iran.First off,Israel & the U.S. will be going it alone & become pariahs in the world.Second,Russia has both promised & committed its military resources to the protection of Iran,that also includes putting Russian soldiers in Iran to protect her.Third,an attack will not only cause Iran to close of the Strait of Hormuz,but Russia will cut off all of her oil & natural gas to Europe.Fourth,Turkey will join Russia & Iran in any retaliatory action against Israel,the U.S.,& the West.Fifth,Pakistan will most likely move her army into Afghanistan in support of the Taliban to put them back in power.The former Soviet Central Asian States will also close bases off to the U.S. & NATO & Afghanistan will be totally cut off from resupply & troop reinforcements.
For all of you who think that Iran is the pariah state,you better look again at who Russia & China are standing behind(hint,it’s not the U.S. &/or Israel).Israel,you better worry more about Beirut,Damascus,Amman,& Cairo & less about Tehran(because Moscow,Ankara,& Islamabad,plus Beijing are standing behind her).
>Fifth,Pakistan will most likely move her army
>into Afghanistan in support of the Taliban to
>put them back in power.The former Soviet Central
>Asian States will also close bases off to the
>U.S. & NATO & Afghanistan will be totally cut
>off from resupply & troop reinforcements
And maybe we would all turn inside out and explode as well, Roy.
Roy, you are an idiot. Your comments are so flippantly ridiculous, I won’t even respond point by point. Iran has no allies in this world but Syria, and we’ve all seen how Syria stands up to Israel.
That SPICE kit really gives an edge to Israel.
The Python 5 alone makes any Iran aircraft a sitting duck.
Are you guys freaking insane? Have you heard of hezzbollah? where do you think they get all thier ammo? have you heard of hamas? where do they get all their stuff? I-freaking-Ran. Taking out the delivery methods of nukes form Iran? You’d have to kill 70% of the population of Lebanon and Palestine. I can’t believe people here can’t see the difference between Israel and Iran. Oh, and we sure want Iran giving nukes to al-qeda people to don’t we?
Sorry to have to point this out, but there really are good guys and bad guys. Its about time the good guys stop listening to all these feel good types and start kicking some bad guy a**
Roy,
I wish that were true. The Roman empire was too great to fall too.
Monitoring radioactive isotopes is not unique to us.You just cannot adequately shield the isotopes from detection.The amount of lead needed is too impractical to be able transport the radioactive material undetected.Russia,China,& the European Union can also monitor radioactive material like this.All radioactive material is cataloged with each having their own unique signature or identifying markers,point of origin,& country in possession of said materials.All radioactive material being transported,legally & illegally,can be monitored by satellite surveillance.
I’d just like to point out that there are two Brians here. Not that I necessarily disagree with the other guy, but in case he says anything crazy later, I want plausible deniability.
Yeah I’m the only “Jeff M” here.
Roy, take your pills. The sad thing is that you take your “theories” so seriously. If a nuke goes off in our country you automatically think it’s the US government, and try to create more wildly imaginative “theories” around that belief. I see a lot of people with your condition these days.
Continue to monitor, assist the development of Democracy in Iran, be less sensitive to verbal insults by the Iranian government, and do not strike until there is honest to god/allah evidence it’s necessary. The Iranian rhetoric sounds so deliberately hostile, wanting for a confrontation, that later “dirty” retaliation would be a plausibly self-justified move on Iran’s part. Iran has a secondary motive, I just sense it. Can we hurt them more with their economy than with bombs. The Iranian people will bond to the religious clerics if an attack it done too soon. They will do the opposite if their economy is hit as hard as the bunker bombs could hit the reactor sites. The clerics want to be attacked. They want their people to feel victimized. It’s just a matter of whom they Iranians perceive as their enemy. The clerics or the country that physically attacks them. Economic attacks are not as easily identified by the public. Attack Iran economically with the economy. Provide all the necessary means for Iranians to complain, organize and become angry with their leaders.
Thanks Brian,
Brian
“Fortress Iran is Virtually Impregnable to a Successful Invasion”
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article5606.html
This article is saying exactly what I & anybody who can still read a map & understand basic geography knows & has been saying all along,Iran is a natural fortress nearly impossible to invade.
Iran is not hurting anybody.It is being turned into a boogeyman just like a 6 foot tall bearded Arab man living in a primitive cave,no doubt without indoor plumbing & for sure without electricity,has been turned into the biggest boogeyman ever. Please tell me how one man living more primitively than New Guinea tribesmen,Amazon Indians,or African bush men/pygmies has this awesome power to mastermind terrorist attacks anywhere in the world. What is he using,carrier pigeons? Why aren’t we banning the domestic use of pigeons then? Come on DHS,you aren’t doing your job.
Anyway Jeff M,
Do you seriously doubt our nation’s “god-like powers” to monitor every radioactive isotope on this big blue marble? Are you saying that the NSA & our satellites ARE NOT THAT GOOD?
Our nation could probably monitor each time a portable X-Ray machine moves from floor to floor in our hospitals.
So,we have the greatest military in the world & Iran should be shaking in their boots at the mere mention of our name,but we have absolutely NO WAY to monitor the movement of radioactive material ANYWHERE in the world? Sounds like a contradiction to me. Knowing that we have this capability,it is obvious that our government would be complicit in any “terrorist” nuclear attack in our nation because of the capability to both monitor & stop any nuclear material from moving around in our nation’s borders. Forget On-Star or Lo-Jack,if you have ANYTHING radioactive in your vehicle,you can be successfully tracked anywhere you go. Our government can also tell where that radioactive material originated,what country it came from originally.
TO PANTERA
Win a few lose few-lose a few- There has been too much noticeable reality to be simply coincidental with the instructions in the POEZ. Obviously you have read them also. As I wrote earlier respect is variable and conditional. Credibility has the same characteristics.
The Jews especially the Zionists declare them fake and forgeries. Being an Anti Zionist Goy, naturally I am suspicious but willing to listen to any contrary evidence to what I consider to be fact
We have to dig for historical evidence that happened to the Palestinian village DEIR YASSAN Massacre by the IRGUN ZAVAI LEUMI, lead by Menachem Begin on April 10, 1948. His rap sheet started in 1913 and was Appointed Israeli Prime Minister and invited to the White house by Jimmy Carter in 1977 and again in 1981 by Ronald Reagan.
John Spooner Sr
Ghost Trooper
Roy,
You can shield nukes with lead. Besides, detection in outer space would never work, it’s hard enough to detect a nuke passing through a border crossing, let alone from 200 miles above, in the pool of radiation that is outer space, when the entire earth below is emitting radiation as well as the massive sun. It’s not like a radio signal.
NUCLEAR SENSING CAPABILITY
NEWS BRIEF: ” US Satellite Detection Of Portable Nuclear Weapons”, Rense.com, 11-7-2001, http://www.rense.com/general16/nucla.htm
“If an internal nuclear attack ever occurs in this country without a major failure of our satellite assets…perhaps we should rethink just who the enemy really is…”
These opening words are shocking, and they are intended to be. The writer wanted all of us to know that America has the technical capability to stop any terrorist in his tracks if he ever dares try to sneak nuclear weapons into this country. Let us now review the “rest of the story”.
“As you have probably heard from the major news networks, there is some concern about the so-called portable nuclear devices developed by the old USSR. Their former head of the KGB has confirmed the existence of 150 portable devices: 100 of which are presently unaccounted for … none of these devices are missing; We know exactly where these devices are located at any given point in time.
“This is how we know: During the 1980′s I worked as a Senior Systems Engineer for several DOD companies in San Diego (Advanced Digital Systems and SAIC). While in this position I was tasked with developing a ‘Fleet Satellite Catastrophic Restoral Plan’ for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. My group was to develop a method for satellite intelligence restoral in the event of a space born nuclear strike by the Soviet Union. In the course of this study, we had to review all satellite capabilities and characteristics: both current and projected through the early ninety’s. A series of satellites planned to begin deployment in 1989 … They carry special sensor devices (Developed by SAIC) that can detect high-velocity spin-off particles from enriched uranium (necessary for nuclear devices). Due to the small size and velocity of these particles, no amount of shielding can block them: not lead, not earth (sub-terrainian). Radiation hazards from these particles are minimal due to limited quantity. Our satellites are fool-proof in detecting and pin-pointing the locations of enriched uranium throughout the world.” (Ibid., Emphasis added)
Did you realize our satellites had this capability? They can accurately sense the “high-velocity spin-off particles from enriched uranium”, even if the device is encased in lead or buried in the earth! This capability means that we know the exact location of every nuclear warhead in the world. We know where every single Russian warhead is, and we knew that Saddam Hussein did not have nuclear warheads!
This news is simply staggering in its implications. The current news breaking all over the world is now telling us that the British MI6 and the American CIA were guilty of massive “intelligence failures” in their pre-war assessment of Saddam’s Weapons of Mass Destruction. But, this revelation tells us that such ‘intelligence failure’ is impossible, for we have the capability to pinpoint the exact location of every nuclear warhead on earth at any moment of time! “Rogue States” who are said to be developing their own nuclear capability would be giving up their nuclear devices quickly, for they would know that we know the location of each and every warhead.
Destroying an enemy’s capability depends largely on several factors: 1) Knowing the exact location of the target; 2) Having the weapons that can destroy the targets before the enemy can move them; 3) Possessing weapons accurate enough to destroy the target.
Our satellite capability to sense even minute high-velocity particles emanating from even the smallest nuclear device gives us the most important factor of all: Knowing the exact location of the target.
Since this information is so unbelievable, are there any other sources to which we can turn to gain verification? As President Reagan used to say often, “Trust, but Verify”.
Another thing Roy, that article says no such suitcase-sized device could exist, but that is total BS also. They built plenty of nuclear weapon that fit into a 155mm artillery shell. Critical mass for plutonium is 10kg using a beryllium reflector, add a few kg of high explosives and you have a suitcase bomb. The only devices big enough to need an 18 wheeled tractor trailer are hydrogen bombs. Pretty much any sized plutonium weapon could be made to fit into the trunk of a honda civic. This demonstrates a fundamental lack of knowledge on the part of this source.
Here Roy,
Visuals, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeydrHKvpYM
You can see the alpha particles flying off of that chunk of material, they travel a few inches on average. Now imagine how many of those particles would hit a 5 ton satellite in space. A satellite in low-earth orbit, rotating the earth at high speed is maybe 200 miles up, a stationary satellite in GEO orbit is 22,236 miles above sea level.
“Milstar satellite constellation consists of five satellites positioned around the Earth in geosynchronous orbits.”
I think we can lay that BS article to rest now.
Another “hairbrain” question,why doesn’t the DHS AND New York City not want “Joe Average Citizen” to carry around Geiger Counters & other detection devices,especially around New York City? Don’t you trust your completely loyal,patriotic,& law abiding [Goyim] citizens with such tools?
Roy Roy Roy… you’re not listening to common sense. The powers that be in this world want you to know what’s going on, you don’t have to look beneath the surface of everything, most of what you see is how things really are.
I just read a great essay today at the bookstore, if you can get through the whole thing maybe things will make more sense to you. This woman should be running for President:
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20080701faessay87401-p0/condoleezza-rice/rethinking-the-national-interest.html
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20080701faessay87401-p0/condoleezza-rice/rethinking-the-national-interest.html
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20080701faessay87401-p0/condoleez
za-rice/rethinking-the-national-interest.html
Featured article at http://www.foreignaffairs.org
exactly.. i agree wid Jack..
hey guys please visit my blog..
http://www.youknowster.com/jokes/view/263-you-know-youre-a-military-brat-when
I am supprised by everyone on this board that consider Iran's armforces as 'POTENT!" Iran armforces is weak! Israel and the US are making a HUGE mistake by not taking out the nuclear facilities! If Iran obtains the bomb then the game is over! Why in the world, the powers, attack Iraq but when it comes to Iran, a country who would like to destroy the state of Israel, offer the olive branch? That is out of logic. Unless, the western press has over exagerated about Iran's nuclear embitions, which I think is the case!