Iran does NOT have a capable military.

[Swampy]

Business Insider has an article saying that Iran has a fearsome arsenal in conventional weapons, because it had a lot of goodies from the US in the 1970's, which it has modernized with its own military-industrial complex.

That's bovine excrement.

Iran's economy is in a state of near collapse, and it does not have access to the finest technological minds in the world, which the US does have. History has shown that isolated countries cannot develop or even maintain effective militaries - look at Iraq in the two Gulf Wars, and look even at the Soviet Union just before the Berlin Wall fell.

[boxcar]

All throughout the world, Iran is the only country which has speed vessels with the ability of firing rockets and missiles at high speeds,” Fadavi said. “We now have speedboats which can launch missiles as they traverse at a speed over 60 kilometers” or some 40 miles an hour.
Iran apparently has developed a number of anti-ship missiles. One is called the Zafar, or Triumph, and the Nour, meaning Light.
The Zafar is a short-range, anti-ship, radar guided missile which can hit and destroy small and medium-sized targets with what is said to be “high precision.” Not only will it be installed on ships and on coastal installations, but also on IRGC aircraft and vehicles. The Zafar is said to be jam-resistant and can fly at very low altitudes.
The Nour is said to be a long-range cruise missile that already is operational. It has a range of 170 kilometers, or 105 miles. It is said to be an Iranian variant of the Chinese C-802 which Iran used to buy. Under U.S. pressure such exports were suspended, but then Iran reverse-engineered its own, the Nour.
There is also a third – the Qader, or Mighty, which recently was viewed during military parades during the Week of Sacred Defense in September. The Qader is a short-range anti-ship missile which has a reported range of some 200 kilometers, or almost 125 miles.
In addition to these missiles, Iran is known to have produced other land-to-sea anti-ship missiles such as the Khalij-e-Fars and Tondar.
These missiles are part of an accelerated effort to improve Iran’s military capability – including to strike with unmanned aerial vehicles, a fifth-generation fighter, ballistic missiles and a massive air defense system. Development of Iran’s military capability comes in light of escalating threats from Israel and the United States to strike the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites.

[Swampy]

In isolation from the rest of the world, Iran's military will go down like the proverbial house of cards - just like the Iraqi one did in both Gulf Wars.

[Deleted]

Oct 28, 2012 16:55:37 GMT -5 Swampy said:

In isolation from the rest of the world, Iran's military will go down like the proverbial house of cards - just like the Iraqi one did in both Gulf Wars.

I believe you are 180 out on this one. Comparing the Iranian military to the Iraqi military is like comparing apples to oranges. Iran has a large, very capable military. Very capable in the sense of being the dominant military in that region of the world. Whether they could stand up to the US or the US/Israeli combo is doubtful unless they use nukes. However, don't dismiss them out of hand. They are a very formidable power.

[Swampy]

Just before the start of Gulf War I, critics were saying the Iraqi army had a 1 million battle-hardened men, and it would be a brutal slog. But that army collapsed within hours the land offensive.

[Deleted]

I was in the Pentagon several times during the run-up to the first Gulf war and I can assure you that our folks were really concerned not so much about the military but rather the WMD they had, particularly gas and chemicals.

[Swampy]

Oct 29, 2012 16:18:45 GMT -5 @kylenedenny said:

I was in the Pentagon several times during the run-up to the first Gulf war and I can assure you that our folks were really concerned not so much about the military but rather the WMD they had, particularly gas and chemicals.

And, now, it's a nuclear bomb.

[boxcar]

Ronald Kessler reporting from Washington, D.C. — Ignored by the media, the U.S. Air Force last month successfully tested a missile that permanently zaps electronics without killing people or damaging buildings.

The Boeing missile emits high power microwaves (HPM) that fry computer chips so that no electronic devices targeted by the missile can operate. Called the Counter-Electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP), the missile was built by Boeing’s Phantom Works for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at a cost of $38 million.

On Oct. 16, when most of us were watching the first presidential debate, the missile flew over a two-story building on the Utah Test and Firing Range. The building in the west Utah desert was pulsing with computers and security and surveillance systems. The microwaves took down the compound’s entire spectrum of electronic systems, including video cameras filming the test, without damaging anything else.

[boxcar]

Intelligence sources tell me CHAMP could be expected to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability. In the same way, a nuclear device obtained by terrorists could be destroyed.

While Iran may attempt to shield its equipment, U.S. officials doubt it would be effective against CHAMP. In short, the U.S. now has a powerful weapon that could change the balance of power against a rogue nation like Iran.





www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/America-Secret-Weapon-Iran/2012/10/31/id/462181

[Swampy]

Oct 31, 2012 13:47:24 GMT -5 boxcar said:

Intelligence sources tell me CHAMP could be expected to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability. In the same way, a nuclear device obtained by terrorists could be destroyed.

I hope so.

[jerryfmcompushaft]

Man - if that is true, we have a whole new ball game!

[boxcar]

Electromagnetic propagation used to be my forte, and it is hard for me to conceive of the E/M intensity required to accomplish what was described. (However, I an not going to test my theories by putting my lap-top in the microwave oven and zapping it).

[Deleted]

I agree with boxcar.