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Israel, being geographically tiny by comparison, a small EMP could have trans-national effects…. But by the same token, I have a feeling that their infrastructure is less vulnerable than ours.

I don’t mean to minimize the problems, but ‘instant stone age’ across the country?… not likely. Regionally, and for a few weeks, Yeah, that is likely.

Electronic devices On or Off; Doesn’t really matter at close range. A power surge through the electrical lines would extend the problem to machines that are plugged in, whether On or Off.

The range of significant effects of an EMP from a smallish nuclear device is not that great. A few tens of miles from an atmospheric burst unless it is a REALLY big one. A few miles at worst from a small ground burst. (Now, six or eight small, geographically well spaced and well timed atmospheric bursts, and the civilian population will be well and truly screwed; No American Idol for you for months.)

Easy to shield electronic devices even in close range to an EMP: Google ‘faraday cage’.

More problematic is the electronic ignition / computer control of vehicles. While metal bodied vehicles are a natural ~85% faraday cage, if your hood is open, or you have a fiberglass or plastic body, you probably aren’t going to be driving anywhere soon. If you have an old car with non-electronic ignition you will be cruising in style (If you can get any gas).

Pretty much all of our military C&C electronics gear is shielded. Probably lose about 10-15% of that within very close EMP range.

Shielding of critical civilian electrical / electronic infrastructure is not very good. Probably lose 50-60% of that within range…. Take a few weeks to get back up to about 80%. A year to get back to 100%.
(Unless they take out Taiwan too, and the ChiComs refuse to sell us replacement parts)

While I would like to see more preparations on the civilian side of things to shield and harden infrastructure against EMP…. That is about the LEAST of our vulnerabilities from the islamics.

Read the whole thing and note the passage in which Ephraim Sneh gives a Newsweek reporter a visual tour of what one atomic bomb used against Israel could do.

Read it, and I don’t believe Sneh was being truthful for a moment. Why would he give a worldwide news outlet the idea that one bomb in a specific place would utterly destroy Israel’s infrastructure? That was a lure.

“The military option is not the worst option,” Yatom says. “The worst option is a nuclear Iran.”

Sounds like Israel is serious, especially when you consider that they had the guts to take out a high interest target in Syria. That alone carried quite a risk. Sanctions alone are not likely to stop Iran from completing their nuclear bomb(s). Helping Iranians to take their own country back would probably take too long too. Looks like everyone is hunkering down for war. We may find out sooner rather than later.

Guardian on September 23, 2007 at 1:35 PM

It’s not a big deal. Such an EMP would would destroy circuit boards that are in operation at that time. US warehouses are full of unsold computers and parts to replenish most of the civil infrastructure within days.

Most professional IT operations keep their own replacement parts as well.

Lowell Wood, acting chairman of the commission, said yesterday that such an attack by Iran or some other actor could cripple the U.S. by knocking out electrical power, computers, circuit boards controlling most automobiles and trucks, banking systems, communications and food and water supplies.

“No one can say just how long systems would be down,” he said. “It could be weeks, months or even years.”