is somebody trying to lull us?
I hope not; what we need more than ever now is a bit of honesty at the top.
Physically, Israel might survive the immediate aftermath of one or two Hiroshima bombs. But as you pointed out, the economic, medical, and radioactive fallouts will destroy the country.
And that's what Iran is after, even if Israel's retaliation kills 40 million of them. It's why MAD won't work here.
Right you are, Michael - unfortunately, I have to add.
In a sense, they're right about no existential threat. Considering how "hot" the various ground zeros would be in the aftermath, and for how long, they definitely would preclude any Arab or Persian invasion or occupation in the immediate future. It's a sick subject. Let's see Olmert find the silver lining in this one.
Livni may have meant that even if Iran were to have a nuclear bomb it does not necessarily mean that it would use it and even if it does it may not succeed.
The Professor, on the other hand, is a fruitcake. For goodness sake, why do people insist on talking about things they have no idea about?
Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombs exploded above ground thus producing instant impact but little radioactive fallout. It is actually easier to make a nuclear bomb explode on impact with the ground, which would result in a major fallout.
Don't know exactly how many bombs it would take to wipe out Israel, but it would be less than 10 (assuming 15-kiloton yield). Every single person in Israel would get above-lethal dose of ~5Sv within a couple of days.
Shemazl, you are right on the tech side, and I didn't even want to go into the case when the bomb explodes on the ground.
However - again - when you look at the professor's CV, it is hard to believe that he was unaware of these basic facts, this is what causes me to suspect a staged act in this interview.
The professor's argument is untenable. Israel would be crippled by such a strike--its ultimate survival would depend on the forebearance of its Arab neighbors. Fat chance of that. The jackals have gathered in the hopes that the lion du jure makes the kill....
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