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Last Monday, there was a huge explosion at Iran's uranium enrichment site. Reports of the explosion at the Fordow underground nuclear plant, near the city of Qom, central-northern Iran, were confirmed on Friday by a former Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Reza Kahlili.
Netanyahu is pushing not only for Obama's acceptance of whatever action Israel decides to take but for stronger language against Iran that goes beyond the all-options-are-on-the table mantra. But Obama has been working to convince Netanyahu that a go-it-alone attack would cause only a temporary setback to Tehran's nuclear ambitions while plunging the already-volatile Middle East into chaos. An explicit American military threat would be counterproductive right now, especially due to the potential for further spikes in global oil prices.
Netanyahu will not go as far as providing assurances that Israel will consult Washington - its biggest source of military assistance, before launching any strikes on Iran, which has called for the destruction of the Jewish state. Anyone who thinks that Israel is not going to make its own decision, particularly on an issue they view in existential terms, is kidding himself. The noise from Israel over a possible strike is geared more toward pressuring the international community for further sanctions than foreshadowing an imminent attack on Iran.
The Fordow plant has been producing uranium enriched to 20 per cent fissile purity since late 2011, compared to the 3.5 per cent level required for nuclear energy plants, and has been operating 700 centrifuges there since the start of the year.
The theocrats have not evacuated the surrounding area, because they are trying to avoid sparking panic among residents. The explosion destroyed much of the installation and trapped five hundred personnel deep underground, including scientists and workers, many of whom are foreign nationals.
The plant is located inside a mountain to protect it from aerial attacks. The blast shook facilities within a radius of five miles. Security forces have enforced a no-traffic radius of twenty miles, and the Tehran-Qom highway was shut down for two days after the blast. The emergency exits have collapsed at the site and regime fears more loss of life due to possible radiation.
The explosion is very damaging in terms of radiation leaks. This is the center of the Iranian nuclear program. It's essential for the regime, its activities, and its nuclear program. It definitely harms Iran drastically. They were reaching for 20 per cent uranium enrichment, and were increasing output.
Israel doesn't have strong enough bombs to penetrate Fordow from the air, but the US MOP, massive ordnance penetrator, is able to penetrate it. But I think this explosion was not initiated by a bomb, but by a virus. When the Iranians were pushing from four percent to twenty percent uranium purity, they did not realize that any computer viruses present would flourish, taking the plant over the tipping point.
A poll of http://venitism.blogspot.com shows 95% of netizens resent the cyberwars of superpowers. Governments and gangs realize malware is much cheaper than mainstream warfare. Malware, short for malicious software, consists of programming designed to disrupt operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or
exploitation, gain unauthorized access to system resources, and other abusive behavior.
Internet security firms make more money when people are more scared of malware, declaring that cyber terrorism can bring the end of civilization! A global Internet blackout and crippling attacks against key infrastructure are among two possible cyber-pandemics. Cyber terrorism is just beginning. Very soon, many countries around the world will know it beyond a shadow of a doubt. It will be the end of the world as we know it!http://venitism.blogspot.com
The evolution from cyber war to cyber terrorism comes from the indiscriminate nature of cyber weapons. Very much like a modern-day Pandora's Box, Flame and other forms of malware cannot be controlled upon release. Faced with a replicating threat that knows no national boundaries, cyber weapons can take down infrastructure around the world, hurting scores of innocent victims along the way.
Uncontrolled security threats on the Internet could return much of the planet to an era without electricity or automated transportation. The United States had yet to resolve basic questions about how to police the Internet, let alone how to defend critical infrastructure such as electric generation plants. The past three years have seen an escalation of an unprecedented theft of trade secrets and mounting threats to infrastructure.
Extremely sophisticated malware have infiltrated computers and energy facilities in the Middle East. But these malware would become templates. They were written by cautious professionals who minimized collateral damage. The knock-off versions by others will be much less discriminating. An electronic assault that disabled thousands of computers at Saudi Arabia's Aramco had followed a separate infection reported by an Iranian oil company.
Mounting a defense against nation-sponsored attacks will be extraordinarily difficult, as it requires new operating systems designed to manage equipment at crucial facilities. Stopping criminals and terrorists who will adopt the same techniques would take strong international cooperation and deeper monitoring of the Internet, which many oppose on privacy grounds. The US Defense Department has defined cyberspace as a warfare domain that it must dominate. Governments and companies recognize that they have all been hacked and focus more on limiting the damage from breaches.http://venitism.blogspot.com