Britannia Radio

China Confidential

Thursday, May 14, 2009

 

The US, Not Israel, Could be Nuclear-Armed, Islamist Iran's Initial, Sneak-Attack Target

The United States should realize that if it allows Iran to acquire atomic arms, the Islamist nation's initial target will not necessarily be Israel. 

Iran, like its Stalinist/Kimist ally, North Korea, dreams of a "world without America." The partners in nuclear/missile crime could therefore be tempted to carry out coordinated, EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) attacks on the United States. In fact, that could be the Iranian-North Korean plan.

An EMP attack is produced by launching a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead--and detonating it high above the Earth. This produces a massive pulse of ionized particles that could damage or even wipe out many electrical and information systems. Such an attack would disrupt telecommunications, banking and finance, fuel and energy, food and water supplies, and emergency and government services, destroying millions of lives. Even a modest warhead placed at the right spot over the East Coast could take down 75 percent of the electrical grid, plunging most of the country into darkness for decades.


A Real Threat

There is a considerable body of evidence that the threat is far from theoretical. Iran has conducted missile tests from sea-based platforms, detonating warheads at the high-point of the missile trajectory, rather at the aim point over the target. 

Iran has also test-fired missiles from cargo ships--with North Korean assistance. Pyongyang is believed to have perfected the technique for concealing missiles in maritime shipping containers. A standard 45-foot container is large enough to store a missile and launch system; the power system could be stored in a separate container.

Thousands of foreign-flagged cargo ships approach U.S. coastlines on a daily basis. Already, North Korean-controlled ships could be lurking off the coasts. 

As there is no known defense against a cargo ship-based missile attack against a coastal city, deterrence is critically important. Considering that there are safeguards in place to protect the nuclear strike force, the best defense against an EMP attack on the U.S. by Iran or North Korea, aside from regime change, would be for the U.S. to tell both countries that they would definitely be obliterated--the U.S. would automatically wipe them out with nuclear weapons--should the U.S. come under any kind of nuclear attack by anyone, including known or anonymous terrorists. 

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton, seeking her party's nomination, said the U.S. would "obliterate" Iran if it ever attacked Israel with a nuclear weapon. Will she send Iran the same message in her present position as U.S. Secretary of State? Probably not. Her boss, President Barack Obama, who beat her in the long Democratic primary contest, is apparently bent on appeasing Iran and abandoning Israel.