Dr. Strangelove Visits Iran

From American Spectator, more than one way to skin a cat...
...MUCH DISCUSSED RECENTLY in unclassified journals, the non-nuclear electro-magnetic pulse weapon has been under development for over twenty-five years by the United States. An EMP weapon has the ability to create a massive energy surge that can disable electrical/electronic systems in a target area. Integrated circuits are the most vulnerable, and they would be key to any nuclear development or weapon system. Some protection can be provided against EMP by the construction of "Faraday cages" around each separate circuit system and electrical lead, though new military-use EMP's can circumvent these. Combined with advanced versions of high power microwave (HPM) devices, disabling damage is said to be capable of being inflicted on any e-system.In addition to the EMP both the United States and Israel have the advanced software ability to invade the Iranian military computer system in such a way as to negate Tehran's ability to make operational any nuclear weapon it may have in development. Iran must know this already.The evidence of the existence of this particular computer hacking capability exists in the already publicly known fear that Washington itself has of an increasing danger of the Chinese ability to do just this very thing. And if the Chinese have such electronic invasion software, the U.S. has it already and the Russians certainly can't be far behind. One of the more interesting weapons known to be under current development is the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) system. This weapon is being tested for air-to-ground use. This version reportedly has a target radius down to a matter of inches from a range of five miles at 10,000 feet. The weapon is adjudged to have the power to penetrate and destroy targets such as missile batteries, commo centers, and other more hardened C3 facilities.There are numerous other exotic weapon systems under development, some quite target specific. The proliferation and dispersion of Iranian nuclear development installations, many underground, is their primary method of defense. Nonetheless, each of these facilities is under high priority surveillance. The Iranians would have to be extraordinarily naive not to have realized this. IN THEORY, all these exotic weapons have an ability to contribute to destroying an enemy's war-making potential without massive body counts or destruction of civilian population centers. It is perhaps not "surgical", but certainly far less life threatening. It is a type of offensive capability of overwhelming strategic value. Even the promised Iranian counterstrike against traffic through the Gulf would be substantially degraded. Most important, aside from several covert special operations teams, no U.S. ground forces would participate. ...(more)