EMP?
For the first time major publications have considered out loud the possibility of Israel using an EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) weapon against Iran.
Two years ago, another time when it looked like the conflict was soon upon us, I posted about that possibility on this site.
I have reproduced my June 2010 post below. – JW
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The Time Has Come…
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose…”
Kris Kristofferson’s lyrics to his classic song Bobby McGee have never been more appropriate than they are right now to an Israel facing a soon to become nuclear Iran.
Any hope that the West, led by the US and Barak Obama would succeed in preventing this terrifying threat to world order have by now been completely dashed. The hysteria over Israel’s enforcement of it’s blockade against the Iranian proxy Hamas, removes all doubt that the West will find any and all excuses to avoid confronting the threat posed to the world by radical Islam.
The parallels to the catastrophic “appeasement” policy towards Nazi Germany prior to 1939 are more than an exaggerated overstatement. In many ways the parallels are frighteningly similar.
Germany, a country of 78 million in 1939 laid before the world its dream of an Aryan empire that would last a thousand years. They also blamed all the troubles of the world on the Jews and promised to put an end to them.
The West stood by and did nothing as the Nazis built up the most powerful war machine in the world in contravention to the Versailles treaty. What resulted was the greatest cataclysm in the history of the world.
Iran today, also a country of 78 million has announced its intentions to bring the world under the domination of Islamic sharia law. It also blames the Jews for all the troubles in the world, although it includes the US as well. While its war machine cannot compare to that of the US, its acquisition of nuclear weapons would make it safe from any retaliation for its continuing and increasing support for terrorism world wide.
Look at the reaction to the direct act of war by North Korea in its unprovoked sinking of the South Korean destroyer. While North Korea blithely denies having committed the act, they threaten the Korean peninsula with war if any response is made against them.
Other than mealy mouthed tut-tutting, what has been the response of the civilized world? Nothing at all. Nor will there be for the very simple reason that the North has nuclear weapons.
Understand that this is the very reason Iran is so intent on acquiring these weapons at any cost. They know that it will insure the survival of their corrupt and hated regime against any and all threats whether from without or within.
Israel at this point has nothing left to lose by putting an end to this Iranian threat once and for all. The endless pundits and military analysts who claim that the most Israel can do is slow down their progress for a few years do so out of their ignorance of the power of EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse).
A nuclear based EMP weapon launched on a Jericho III missile and detonated 150 miles above Iran would cause no casualties whatsoever to the people on the ground. What it would do is destroy all electrical based equipment from radios to trucks to power grids to tanks to missiles to centrifuges.
The destruction is not temporary, it is permanent. Every circuit board and electrical switching device in Iran would have to be replaced. The net effect would be to remove Iran as a military threat on any level whatsoever for a minimum of one to two decades.
No more threats against the straights of Hormuz; their navy simply won’t function. Their nuclear program would be permanently stopped dead its tracks.
The negative result would be an enormous humanitarian crisis, as the basics for the functioning of a modern society in Iran would be wiped out. The entire world would have to pitch in to help the Iranian people survive the loss of their 21st century technology.
However, the cost of doing this and the unavoidable suffering that would result pales in comparison to the potential for true Armageddon should the radical Islamic mullahs gain the power of nuclear weapons.
Of course Israel would be roundly condemned by the entire world for taking this action, the same way it was when it destroyed Saddam Hussein’s Osirak reactor. Nonetheless, underneath the condemnation would be the biggest sigh of relief the world has ever experienced. The only powers that would be truly upset by such an action would be Iran’s terrorist proxies in Gaza and Lebanon and perhaps also North Korea.
Israel is a small country, but a great and powerful one at the same time. Golda Meir is quoted as saying, “We Jews have a secret weapon in our struggle with the Arabs; we have no place to go.” That remains the truth to this day. While the Western nations look the other way as Iran develops the power to destroy the Jewish state, Israel does not have that luxury.
The time has come to put an end to radical Islam’s threat to the world. Almost every violent struggle in the world today has at its root this atavistic and intolerant ideology whose world leader and main source of funding worldwide is Iran.
It is a very frightening choice for Israel to make. The sad truth is that the weak-willed and hypocritical governments of the world have forced Israel’s hand. It is no longer a choice, it is a necessity.
The time has come…
Joseph Wouk
June 3, 2010
WarSclerotic 
August 7, 2012 at 6:56 PM
Joseph, you wrote that a “nuclear based EMP weapon launched on a Jericho III missile and detonated 150 miles above Iran would cause no casualties whatsoever to the people on the ground.”
Well, people fitted with pacemakers or connected to life-sustaining machinery, how will they not be casualties to an EMP blast?
What about the possibility of diseases running rampant as a result of water desalination plants, if Iran relies on those, being rendered useless by an EMP blast? Or a lack of ambulances to transport people to hospitals and a lack of machinery to be used in hospitals to help save lives?
It seems clear to me that there most definitely will be casualties on the ground in the event of an EMP device successfully used against Iran. The only question is how many; will there be enough to preclude anyone from blasting Iran into the Stone Ages for fear of the political and/or military consequences it may bring on from the world, in general, and the Arab world, specifically. As a last resort, it might be the only tenable solution. But I doubt we’re anywhere near there…
August 7, 2012 at 7:20 PM
At 150 miles the damage would not be limited to Iran. The pulse is line of sight and would impact the electrical infrastructure of millions of non-Iranians. Additionally, military installations are hardened against EMP as are modern weapons systems.
The collateral damage would be too widespread for it to be a politically acceptable choice.
This method of nuclear deployment would also make the use of nuclear weapons in this manner acceptable. The use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable in any deployment scenario other than MAD.
August 8, 2012 at 6:11 AM
One thing those in the world better get through their heads, Israel is here to stay. I have no doubt that Israel will do anything they need to to stay alive. We have an old saying in the States: It is better to be judged by 12 then carried by 6. So you do what you have to do to live through the fight. Those in the west better make sure Israel is not put in a place where they have to use their weapons of last resort.
August 8, 2012 at 8:18 AM
Agree with every word.