Arutz Sheva Op-Ed Triggered U.S. Worries On Iran EMP Strike

This article is actually interesting for several reasons. One reason is the simple fact that Israel could implement the use of an EMP for a strike on Iran. What makes this article more interesting is found in the quotes below:

Arutz Sheva Op-Ed Triggered U.S. Worries On EMP Strike

An August 6 opinion article by Dr. Joe Tuzara on Arutz Sheva (Israel National News) regarding Israel's possible use of an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) bomb against Iran has triggered a chain reaction, allegedly influencing U.S. intelligence sources who have since been quoted in several publications, including theNew York Post. The latest in the chain of news outlets to quote the report is the London Sunday Times.

The intelligence sources reportedly believe that the Arutz Sheva article was more than an innocent op-ed by a physician, and that it "reflects official Israeli government thinking about a possible preemptive response to Iran’s expected emergence as a nuclear weapons state in the near future." This, according to theWashington Free Beacon's Bill Gertz, who reported on the U.S. intelligence agencies' concerns August 29.

"It was the first time the issue of a nuclear EMP attack by Israel had appeared in a mainstream Israeli press outlet," wrote the Beacon.

"U.S. officials also suspect the article was written by someone in the Israeli government who favors such a strike. Another theory among analysts is that the Israeli government, at a minimum, encouraged publication of the article," it reported.

"If Israel chooses one of its Jericho III missiles to detonate a single EMP warhead at high altitude over north central Iran, there will be no blast or radiation effects on the ground," Dr. Tuzara wrote in his original article.

"Coupled with cyber-attacks, Iranians would not know it happened except for a massive shutdown of the electric power grid, oil refineries and a transportation gridlock. Food supply would be exhausted and communication would be largely impossible, leading to economic collapse. Similarly, the uranium enrichment centrifuges in Fordo, Natanz and widely scattered elsewhere, would freeze for decades."

It is not clear why the intelligence officials appear to believe the op-ed was an official Israeli message to Iran, rather than simply being the writer's opinion.

Arutz Sheva is a private publication and is usually very critical of the government's policies, especially regarding Judea and Samaria. However, it is probably the only Israel-based publication that consistently and exclusively features op-eds by thinkers who do not let the "politically correct" stream cloud their reasoning. In other words: many of the articles that appear on Arutz Sheva simply make sense. This could be have something to do with the U.S. analysts' belief that the article reflects an official position.

Another Arutz Sheva op-ed article, written by Mark Langfan in April, also mentioned the possible use of an EMP bomb. In Langfan's scenario, Iran could use such a bomb against Saudi Arabia.

Below we have an update on the Syrian chemical weapons situation:

Syria Transferred Chemical Weapons To Port City Last Month, Raising Alarm

The Syrian regime transferred chemical weapons from a storage base near Damascus to the port city of Tartus last month, sparking American and European concerns that the weapons could fall into the hands of Hezbollah in Lebanon or other extremist organizations inside Syria, Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai reported Sunday.

On August 20, US President Barack Obama declared that the US would consider military intervention if Syria deployed or used chemical weapons in its possession. British diplomatic sources told the Kuwaiti paper on Sunday that Obama issued the strongly-worded warning following the transfer of weapons from Damascus to Tartus.

On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that US and Middle Eastern officials were concerned that Syria had dispersed its chemical weapons stockpile, considered to be the third-largest in the world, to 20 sites around the country.

The diplomatic sources who spoke to Al-Rai speculated that the weapons were moved to Tartus as part of the Assad regime’s “plan B” to flee to an Alawite-majority region of Syria if the regime is in jeopardy.

The ancient port of Tartus, along the country’s coast, is one of the country’s few Alawite majority enclaves. In August, Jordan’s King Abdullah speculated that Assad may try to create a mini-state in the area should he lose control of Damascus.

Ten thousand soldiers are on permanent alert to take over 31 bases inside Syria where chemical weapons are stored, if the West becomes convinced that those weapons may no longer be secure, the British diplomatic sources told Al-Rai.