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Iran and EMP

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Each month Iran gets closer to a nuclear weapon. This is not only bad news for Israel but also for America. We might think that one nuclear bomb wouldn’t pose much of a threat to the United States.

Recently on my radio program, a guest explained that Iran has not only been working on nuclear materials but has also developed a rocket and tested whether it could explode a nuclear weapon in the upper atmosphere. That poses a threat to us.

Exploding a nuclear weapon above the United States would set off an Electro Magnetic Pulse (known as an EMP). I have talked about this threat in previous commentaries, but let me summarize the danger once again. The gamma rays and x-ray effects of an EMP would be catastrophic. The massive electronic disturbance would move at the speed of light towards earth. This overload would short out all electronic equipment, power grids, and electronic devices.

It would wipe out televisions, radios, phones, automobiles, and all electronic devices. There would be no way of keeping food cold, no way of heating or cooling homes, and virtually no communication. Our power grids, our communications networks, and our transportation system would come to a grinding halt.

Some people tend to discount this as a threat, but all you need to do is read one of the U.S. government reports to understand the gravity of this threat. Unfortunately, the only time the public has probably heard about an EMP is when it was used as a plot device in the movie “Ocean’s Eleven” or in the television show “24.”

Unfortunately, we have been lulled into thinking that the nuclear threat has lowered because of the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is tempting to think that Iran poses little threat with merely one nuclear weapon. But rogue nations or terrorists can disrupt American life with one rocket and one nuclear weapon.

It is time for tough talk and clear thinking. We need to reconsider the current treaty and revisit our commitment to missile defense.

Viewpoints by Kerby Anderson

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