Iran's Immediate Threat to the West

[cOnScRiPtRED]

Do you think the Iranian military leadership is capable of intimidating the United States to back out of its current occupation of Middle Eastern nations? Lately it would seem that they are calibrating to make a strike at the US or other Coalition forces and I cant help but think if it would be a brush fire war or a major conflict. Would nuclear options be deployed or would we launch the much feared "Shock & Awe" battle plan against their communication facilities, airfields and scud or other missile launch sites?

[reviewer-general]

What is this "calibrating" you speak of?

Linky?

;

[cOnScRiPtRED]

Iran purchasing weapons from Russia to protect its airspace(s-300)? Speedboats threatening an American warship. Secret nuclear facilities being discovered by the IAEA. Is this sufficient information or would you rather ask more of me?

[cOnScRiPtRED]

39 views and 1 reply? Sheesh.

[Imperator]

At 1/26/08 06:34 PM, cOnScRiPtRED wrote: 39 views and 1 reply? Sheesh.

It's only been 2 hours.....sheesh......

This isn't General, give it some time.

At 1/26/08 04:12 PM, cOnScRiPtRED wrote: Do you think the Iranian military leadership is capable of intimidating the United States to back out of its current occupation of Middle Eastern nations? Lately it would seem that they are calibrating to make a strike at the US or other Coalition forces and I cant help but think if it would be a brush fire war or a major conflict. Would nuclear options be deployed or would we launch the much feared "Shock & Awe" battle plan against their communication facilities, airfields and scud or other missile launch sites?

I don't know if they're capable of ending our occupation in the Mid East. I think that'd be a stretch for them, mainly because we DO carry quite a bit of weight there and we DO have a few allies in the region.

I think they could probably make our lives miserable over there, especially if they went for Afghanistan and Iraq, but I don't think they could force us to withdraw completely.

I'm not sure they're "calibrating" to make a strike on the US, but rather doing it as a protective measure. We put them on the "axis of Evil", and invaded Iraq already. We've been talking quite heavily of military options against Iran, and even War with them.

I think it's a safe bet they realize they're next, and are beefing up their defenses as a result. Their offensive capabilities are probably much more limited, but TheMason could confirm that for you.

If Iran made an offensive move, I have a feeling we'd see a Gulf War I type response: Massive aerial campaigning.

Personally I think they'll sit tight, and continue beefing up defense. They're crazy, but they're not stupid. They do realize that you don't step on Superman's cape and expect to get away unscathed........ ;)

[cOnScRiPtRED]

They cant possibly think doing all of these weapons purchases in the public eye wont get the attention of America and her allies. I think they are trying to goad you into an open conflict.

[Slizor]

At 1/26/08 07:45 PM, cOnScRiPtRED wrote: They cant possibly think doing all of these weapons purchases in the public eye wont get the attention of America and her allies. I think they are trying to goad you into an open conflict.

Which they would want....why?

[lumpypaint]

ok, im a bit uneducated on the subject, why are we over there again?

i though al qaida was currently in pakistan?

[cOnScRiPtRED]

They are currently an islamic country, or at least when I last checked and when one islamic community declares a Fatwa or Jihad all others are expected to contibute. So far Iran has only let their militia's and Al-Qaeda sects to pass through their border, but that alone should set an alarm off. Remember when the Russians were in Afghanistan? Every country in the Middle East sent support any way they could be it soldiers, weapons or money. Every Islamic person in the entire area flooded into Afghanistan to become a part of the Jihad. Im just saying Iran is acting as I would expect them to, perhaps you should pay attention.

[reviewer-general]

At 1/26/08 08:36 PM, lumpypaint wrote: ok, im a bit uneducated on the subject, why are we over there again?

i though al qaida was currently in pakistan?

We are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dear God, you are a pathetic excuse for a human being.

;

[wwwyzzerdd]

Is there any data available at all about the specifics of Uranium enrichment? This one has always baffled me since the same process is used to enrich Uranium for use in reactors as it is for making weapons-grade material, just in less quantity. I know most reactors run on just 3% U-235 while 85+% is used for weapons (although even less than 20% enriched U-235 can theoretically be used for a very low-grade weapon).

[Bolo]

At 1/30/08 10:24 PM, wwwyzzerdd wrote: Is there any data available at all about the specifics of Uranium enrichment? This one has always baffled me since the same process is used to enrich Uranium for use in reactors as it is for making weapons-grade material, just in less quantity. I know most reactors run on just 3% U-235 while 85+% is used for weapons (although even less than 20% enriched U-235 can theoretically be used for a very low-grade weapon).

Gaseous Diffusion

Process: In the gaseous diffusion enrichment plant, the solid uranium hexafluoride (UF6) from the conversion process is heated in its container until it becomes a liquid. The container becomes pressurized as the solid melts and UF6 gas fills the top of the container. The UF6 gas is slowly fed into the plant's pipelines where it is pumped through special filters called barriers or porous membranes. The holes in the barriers are so small that there is barely enough room for the UF6 gas molecules to pass through. The isotope enrichment occurs when the lighter UF6 gas molecules (with the U-234 and U-235 atoms) tend to diffuse faster through the barriers than the heavier UF6 gas molecules containing U-238. One barrier isn't enough, though. It takes many hundreds of barriers, one after the other, before the UF6 gas contains enough uranium-235 to be used in reactors. At the end of the process, the enriched UF6 gas is withdrawn from the pipelines and condensed back into a liquid that is poured into containers. The UF6 is then allowed to cool and solidify before it is transported to fuel fabrication facilities where it is turned into fuel assemblies for nuclear power reactors.

Hazards: The primary hazard in gaseous diffusion plants include the chemical and radiological hazard of a UF6 release and the potential for mishandling the enriched uranium, which could create a criticality accident (inadvertent nuclear chain reaction).

A few other methods exist, as well.

Gas Centrifuge

The gas centrifuge uranium enrichment process uses a large number of rotating cylinders in series and parallel formations. Centrifuge machines are interconnected to form trains and cascades. In this process, UF6 gas is placed in a cylinder and rotated at a high speed. This rotation creates a strong centrifugal force so that the heavier gas molecules (containing U-238) move toward the outside of the cylinder and the lighter gas molecules (containing U-235) collect closer to the center. The stream that is slightly enriched in U-235 is withdrawn and fed into the next higher stage, while the slightly depleted stream is recycled back into the next lower stage. Significantly more U-235 enrichment can be obtained from a single unit gas centrifuge than from a single unit gaseous diffusion stage. No gas centrifuge commercial production plants are operating in the United States, however, both Louisiana Energy Services (LES) and USEC Inc. have recently received a license to construct and operate a commercial enrichment facility. USEC Inc. was granted a license in February 2004 for a demonstration and test gas centrifuge plant, which is currently under construction. Both LES and USEC Inc.'s commercial facilities are now under construction.

Laser Separation

Isotopic separation of uranium can be achieved based on photoexcitation principles. Such technologies have been named Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS), Molecular Laser Isotope Separation (MLIS), and Separation of Isotopes by Laser Excitation (SILEX). In general, the enrichment process entails using 3 major systems which are the laser systems, optical systems, and separation module system. Tunable lasers can be developed to deliver a highly monochromatic radiation. The radiation from these lasers can be staged in series to photoionize a specific isotope species while not affecting other isotopic species. The affected species is then physically or chemically changed which enables the material to be separated. AVLIS used a U-Fe metal alloy as its feed material, while SILEX and MLIS use UF6 as its feed material.

Some of the advantages of laser enrichment when compared to other enrichment technologies is the low power consumption and capital cost, relatively simple and practical separation modules, and that enrichment can occur in one pass through the separator. One of the disadvantages that it is production is a batch process and part of the process has to be performed in a vacuum.

[1]

[AapoJoki]

I'm more worried about Pakistan. I hate to admit this, but right now it seems the only thing keeping that country stable is the authoritarian military administration. If the control of Pakistan falls into the hands of Muslim extremists, it will only be a matter of time that they make nuclear threats against the west, or share their arsenal with Iran.

[blanketcat]

Won't Iran suffer from radioactive fallout should they attack Israel?

[Austrian-Mats]

At 1/26/08 07:45 PM, cOnScRiPtRED wrote: They cant possibly think doing all of these weapons purchases in the public eye wont get the attention of America and her allies. I think they are trying to goad you into an open conflict.

Why, it's their good right to defense themselves, isn't it?
Their military is still suffering from the losses of the first Gulf War, especially their airforces.
And, if I can trust Wikipedia, large parts of their military is highly obsolete.

However, I have to agree with you, that this islamic regime is highly dangerous, fanatic and inhumane - just look at the "tactics" they used against Iraq in GW 1 ("volounteers", young teenagers, sent in masses across minefields to "debur" the mines, "human waves" against iraqi positions a.s.o.), or the treatment of their own population.

No, I'd highly support it if this regime would disappear from the earth's surface - unfortunately, an attack would extremely destabilize the whole region, so that's not really a good idea.

Have a nice day.

[zoolrule]

I think MUCH more dangerous threat to the west these days is the Muslim immigration to the western society, they are leeches.

[Slizor]

Im just saying Iran is acting as I would expect them to, perhaps you should pay attention.

I'm just saying that Iran is acting as I would expect in that, facing an immediate threat from the West, that they seek to protect themselves - perhaps you should pay attention.

Seriously guys, I know its easy to believe that enemy governments are just plain evil and don't have one iota of intelligence, but it doesn't mean that it is true.

[bcdemon]

At 1/26/08 05:24 PM, cOnScRiPtRED wrote: Iran purchasing weapons from Russia to protect its airspace(s-300)? Speedboats threatening an American warship. Secret nuclear facilities being discovered by the IAEA. Is this sufficient information or would you rather ask more of me?

There are 150,000+ US soldiers on one side of Iran, 27,000 US troops on the other side of Iran. The US has a pile of ships in the Persian Gulf, The US president has called Iran a part of his "Axis of Evil", of which he has attacked one of the axis members already. That right there justifies almost any defensive weapons Iran buys. And if you factor in how often the US is using its air force in Iran and Afghanistan (shit, dropped 40,000 pounds of explosives in 10 minutes, killed 35 insurgents = 1142 pounds of explosives per insurgent, lol) it is perfectly reasonable for Iran to bolster its air defenses. That and Russia denied the claim about Iran buying the S300, but apparently the S300 will come from Belarus, not Russia.
And the US has said that the Iranians stopped uranium enrichment back in 2003, so Irans nuclear threat is mild to nill.
The amount of US military personnel and weaponry in the Persian Gulf is a direct threat to Irans national security as far as I can see.

[blob21]

At 1/31/08 05:12 AM, blanketcat wrote: Won't Iran suffer from radioactive fallout should they attack Israel?

Yes, especially after Israel nukes their cities.

[The-evil-bucket]

At 1/26/08 06:34 PM, cOnScRiPtRED wrote: 39 views and 1 reply? Sheesh.

That's pretty high. And I don't approve of double posts.

[cellardoor6]

At 1/31/08 11:23 AM, bcdemon wrote: And if you factor in how often the US is using its air force in Iran and Afghanistan (shit, dropped 40,000 pounds of explosives in 10 minutes, killed 35 insurgents = 1142 pounds of explosives per insurgent, lol)

It's funny how you always, ALWAYS distort facts and take things out of context.

The damage from the bombs included 25 houses and 13 vehicles. How many of those were destroyed intentionally as part of the bombing operation? You don't know, so you conveniently left that outm (or didn't even read it in the first place). What makes you think that 35 insurgents were the only targets and were just massing in one single area to justify dividing the weight of the bombs by the amount of insurgents killed? Nothing, you didn't think at all, you just used one of those little twists of reality you like to use.

Destroying hard targets requires a lot of explosives in order to kill the people inside and/or around. 40,000lbs of bombs for 25 buildings, 13 vehicles (if they were all targets), and 35 insurgents is pretty fucking efficient.

[wwwyzzerdd]

At 1/31/08 01:34 AM, Bolo wrote: Gaseous Diffusion
Gas Centrifuge
Laser Separation

Grrrr. I know all of those. I've just always wondered what level Iran was enriching their fuel at, but I guess that people just hear "uranium" and assume nuclear bomb. I know that our submarines use about 200kg of 90+% enriched fuel (you can find that number online, so it's not classified information in case you're wondering).

[bcdemon]

At 1/31/08 05:27 PM, cellardoor6 wrote: pretty fucking efficient.

lol, You're still at 550lbs per target. But don't derail the topic because you can't take a fucking joke.

[cellardoor6]

At 1/31/08 11:51 PM, bcdemon wrote:

At 1/31/08 05:27 PM, cellardoor6 wrote: pretty fucking efficient.

lol, You're still at 550lbs per target.

When the targets consist of brick houses and cars, then that's good.