I’m starting to feel more pessimistic about our future than I am wont to do. It seems we are stuck. Like a deer in the headlights, we cannot see which way to move. Iran has made clear their intentions and their capabilities, and they’re sitting there smirking at us while we debate all the ways and reasons we can’t retaliate, and enumerate the innumerable paths to failure. How I wish we had some real leadership in this country. If ever we needed a leader, it’s now.
One question worth asking ourselves when we go into the voting booth in November is what will each candidate’s reaction be in the event of a nuclear war in the Middle East? How long will Obama try to negotiate with a madman while he builds up his military might and prepares for a first strike?
Hang on tight, my friends. We’re headed for uncharted territory.
Government is Not Your Daddy 
Feelings, which can be notoriously fickle, do indeed make up much of our world view. My feelings over the current state of the world, can be boiled down to one word: Dread. Never has this nation faced an almost certain threat, if not directly from military attack, and that’s possible as recent history has shown, but from dependence upon middle eastern oil, who’s future is so tenuous. And worse, our leaders seem immune to even the most perfunctory of steps to ameliorate the danger. And when they do address it, they decide to turn crops into fuel, driving up food prices worldwide, pushing poor third world countries to starvation.
Islam has all but taken over France. Germany, Great Britain, and the rest of Europe are not far behind. Radical Islam, with Russia’s help, is on the fast track to develop nuclear weapons. Delivery systems help from the them and China, virtually guarantee big trouble sooner or later. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out the little missile show this week was designed to give us the impression they were still lacking technology. It was just a little too obvious in it’s ineptness.
I’ve never had the notion that Congress was like the Keystone Cops before, but I do now. Our own two Senators send out these newsletters full of “look what I’m doing for you” crap, and little or nothing or the worlds slipping grip. Yeah, Dread is what I feel.
In my opinion, unless the GOP drafts Gingrich, at the convention, we stand no chance, and little if they do. And I’m generally an optimist…..really
Funny, but this attitude has only hit me in the last couple days.
There are a couple of issues relating to Iran that are not generally receiving wide attention: Saudi Arabia and representatives from other Arab states have made clear that they would have no objection to an Israeli strike against Iran, whom they view as actively destabilizing the area.
As for nukes, it is clear that Iran at this point likely has sufficient enriched uranium to build a bomb. As there is presently no indication that they’ve mastered plutonium, we can assume that they’d be going with u-238, which would produce a relatively weak result. Taken together, the u-238 and detonators used to unite the two pieces of u-238, the focusing lenses, outer casing and associated materials would weigh in at between 400 and 500 pounds. This payload weight can be delivered by a SCUD missile, which is widely available on the world market for around $100,000.
An interesting facet to all of this which I believe has been seriously underreported is the fact that Iran has successfully tested on several occasions equipment to remotely detonate a payload while airborne. When reported at all, these have been characterised by western media as “failed missile tests” when in fact by other accounts they were successful tests of remote detonation systems.
In addition to the SCUD option, Iran has its short-range Shahab-3 ballistic missiles, which are designed to accept a variety of payloads – including, of course, a nuclear payload. Moreover, Iran has successfully demonstrated an ability to detonate these missiles while still in high altitude flight.
Why would Iran be doing this? There’s only one plausible explanation for such tests: preparation for the deployment of electromagnetic pulse weapons. These aren’t designed to kill people; they’re designed to kill electrons. If they were to detonate an atomic weapon at an altitude of greater than 35 miles, the subsequent electromagnetic pulse would destroy circuit boards and electrical power systems
across a large, targeted path.
It’s worth noting that this can be accomplished using either a ballistic missile or a SCUD; targeted impact is not required – the idea would be to loft a payload into the stratosphere and remotely detonate it. It’s also worth noting that doing so would produce not only a ground effect emp – it would also destroy satellites in the area of the detonation circle.
How might an emp affect the USA?
Well, call me a rosy eyed optimist but we’ll muddle through. However it won’t be easy. As I just posted on my blog: “The War on Terror is only one facet of the Great War for Civilization which we will be waging for the next few centuries.”
“in the event of a nuclear war in the Middle East?”
Between who & who?? Is Pakistan going to go over to the terrorists side (it seems that’s where they belong anyways)? Who will Israel be trading nuclear weapon strikes with??? Iran doesn’t have a bomb and is many, many years away from being able to make one. The idea that Iran is going to be working to prepare “for a first strike” is just silly fear-mongering…nothing more.
It’s in our best interest to NOT allow a nuclear war to happen…ever…anywhere! Whether this is done through brute “strength”, negotiation (NOT capitulation BTW), or whatever makes no matter to me.
“Islam has all but taken over France.”
LOL…not even close!
“it is clear that Iran at this point likely has sufficient enriched uranium to build a bomb.”
Again, not even close!!
“There’s only one plausible explanation for such tests: preparation for the deployment of electromagnetic pulse weapons.”
“Great War for Civilization”
Wow, you guys live in a fantasyland much?? Sheesh…get a grip…
You ask for leadership. We have leadership. Leaders are like nose hair, they are always there and don’t do much good. It’s the type of leadership that we have, that needs to change. WE need a leader who might say: It’s as simple as this, we win, they loose.” No ifs ands or buts. Both candidates for the Presidency are sorely lacking in definitive answers to any definitive question they might be asked. Have you ever heard Obama say, I will win this war in 2009,” or “I will win this war in 18 months, followed by a phased withdrawal.” Why doesn’t anyone talk of winning. And if the term “Win” needs to be defined, that for Gods sake let’s sit down and define it.
Reagan was criticized by everyone for being simplistic in some of the things he said. Talking about tearing down a wall which had been in place, an venue of great carnage, for over 4o years, was childish and non-pragmatic. Saying that our only choice was winning the cold war was childish and simple-minded. It’s the pussy-footing around the issues that needs to stop. Why can’t someone say, “We will not rest until the Taliban is obliterated,” or raising the price of oil by controlling supply is an act of war because it threatens our national security, and we will fight it it with whatever we have.”
Now if we had a leader like that, we wouldn’t be hurting and we would have no doubt about who to choose in November.
Reaganite – Glenn D’Abreo
http://www.hangright.org
How can you win someone else’s war?? Haven’t we learned anything from the Vietnam experience?? The high-ranking officers that served at the time sure have, but the Right-wing in this country hasn’t apparently…
“‘We will not rest until the Taliban is obliterated'”
Sounds good to me…they are in Afghanistan BTW…with Al-Qaeda…who attacked us on 9/11. Let’s get about getting them all…it’s waaaay past time that we did!