Is Israel using a new-ish neutron bomb in Gaza (previous uses in Lebanon, Gaza, and Iraq by USA and Israel)?

submitted by kingsmegLiberté, égalité, fraternité from johnhelmer.net

all 5 comments
sorted by:
new (suggested)
topinsightfulfun

[–]weavilsatemyface 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Short answer: no.

Longer answer: this plan for a wall of radiation around Israel is pathetic even for shitty sci-fi. As a practical defensive measure, it's ridiculous. It was a tiny bit less ridiculous back in 1984, when Cohen (clearly suffering from the same mental illness that had Edward Teller supporting Ronald Reagan's mad "SDI" Star Wars program) suggested it, but still ridiculous. But today, when even Hamas has access to missiles and drones and paratroopers, it's just madness. As for defending against a peer nation state ... 😵

[–]kingsmegLiberté, égalité, fraternité[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

That is not what is alleged in the article. In fact the discussion of the theoretical nuclear fence distracted quite a bit from the main accusation in the article, that Israel is dropping a new variant of a neutron bomb on Gaza.

[–]weavilsatemyface 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

So let me get this straight... people look at the devastation in Gaza, at the thousands of buildings that have been destroyed and blown up into rubble, and they think "Israel must be using a bomb that kills people and leaves buildings standing".

[–]kingsmegLiberté, égalité, fraternité[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

This would be an extremely expensive bomb to make, millions of dollars per unit, assembled one at a time in hazardous conditions. I doubt anyone ever built more than a handful. They couldn't use this to depopulate Gaza even if they wanted to, even if the bomb actually worked as planned. And it would seem it doesn't work, it doesn't kill half a million people at once. At best it kills a couple hundred, and causes DNA and cell damage to a few thousand.

But Israel does like testing their weapons on Gaza. How else would they know it if works or not?

[–]ageingrockstar 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Automatic upvote from me for anything from John Helmer, who I feel is a vastly underappreciated journalist (due in part do his fierce independence)