Rockridge: The Words None Dare Say

[chefgirl]

Don't know if this has already been posted. Mods, feel free to delete if it has, but:


The Words None Dare Say: Nuclear War
by George Lakoff

"The elimination of Natanz would be a major setback for Iran's nuclear ambitions, but the conventional weapons in the American arsenal could not insure the destruction of facilities under seventy-five feet of earth and rock, especially if they are reinforced with concrete."

—Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker, April 17, 2006

"The second concern is that if an underground laboratory is deeply buried, that can also confound conventional weapons. But the depth of the Natanz facility - reports place the ceiling roughly 30 feet underground - is not prohibitive. The American GBU-28 weapon - the so-called bunker buster - can pierce about 23 feet of concrete and 100 feet of soil. Unless the cover over the Natanz lab is almost entirely rock, bunker busters should be able to reach it. That said, some chance remains that a single strike would fail."

—Michael Levi, New York Times, April 18, 2006


The stories in the major media suggest that an attack against Iran is a real possibility and that the Natanz nuclear development site is the number one target. As the above quotes from two of our best sources note, military experts say that conventional "bunker-busters" like the GBU-28 might be able to destroy the Natanz facility, especially with repeated bombings. But on the other hand, they also say such iterated use of conventional weapons might not work, e.g., if the rock and earth above the facility becomes liquefied. On that supposition, a "low yield" "tactical" nuclear weapon, say, the B61-11, might be needed.

If the Bush administration, for example, were to insist on a sure "success," then the "attack" would constitute nuclear war. The words in boldface are nuclear war, that's right, nuclear war — a first strike nuclear war.

What we are seeing now is the conservative message machine preparing the country to accept the ideas of a nuclear war and nation destruction against Iran. The technique used is the "slippery slope." It is done by degrees. Like the proverbial frog in the pot of water – if the heat is turned up slowly the frog gets used to the heat and eventually boils to death – the American public is getting gradually acclimated to the idea of war with Iran.

http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/research/lakoff/the-words-none-dare-say-nuclear-war



Much more at link.

-chef-

[bananas]

1. They've been here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=3060468&mesg_id=3060468

Not really nukes? I call BULLSHIT

We have seen a set of posts here claiming that tactical nuke 'bunker busters' are not 'real nukes' and are not even in the same class of weapon as the bomb we dropped on hiroshima.

This is of course a vile argument attempting to justify first strike use of nuclear weapons by claiming that these particular nuclear weapons are not really nuclear weapons. It is also wrong on the facts regarding the claim that the bunker buster weapon is not in the same class as the hiroshima weapon.

Now for some actual facts. First the Hiroshima weapon:

<snip>

[chefgirl]

2. Thanks

Thanks for the link. I totally missed those threads when they were new.

WTF?? Why would anyone with a brain fall for the 'Not all nukes are nukes' meme?? :eyes: If its just political misinformation, thats one thing, but is it really possible that some people actually believe that bullshit?

We're so screwed.

-chef-