What time will the first bomb drop?

[Yellowstang]

I think at 7:01 PM CST the war will begin. We'll drop a bomb somewhere in Iraq, hopefully on Saddams house, with him in it.

[Jedi]

I dunno...I'm guessing abotu 15 minutes past the deadline the first cruise missles will strike.

14 minutes before that though is when 95% of the Iraqi army surrenders.

[Yellowstang]

I just read about this new "E Bomb" sounds pretty cool!



U.S. May Use 'E-Bomb' During Iraq War
Wed Mar 19, 4:21 PM ET

By MATT CRENSON, AP National Writer

U.S. forces may use a new "e-bomb" during the expected invasion of Iraq (news - web sites) as part of a 21st century blitzkrieg designed to render Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s forces blind, deaf, dumb and incapable of retaliation.



The highly classified bomb creates a brief pulse of microwaves powerful enough to fry computers, blind radar, silence radios, trigger crippling power outages and disable the electronic ignitions in vehicles and aircraft.


"They would be useful against any adversary that is dependent on electronic systems," said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute, a think-tank based in Arlington, Va.


In modern warfare, electronics undergird virtually every weapon more sophisticated than a rifle or hand grenade. For that reason, Air Force scientists have worked for decades on a practical way of producing powerful but brief pulses of microwaves that can incapacitate electronic equipment without damaging buildings or harming people.


Officially, the Pentagon (news - web sites) does not acknowledge the weapon's existence. Asked about it at a March 5 Pentagon news conference, Gen. Tommy Franks said: "I can't talk to you about that because I don't know anything about it."


However, military analysts say a number of unclassified documents suggest such a device is ready for the battlefield.


"There's been a lot of discussion behind closed doors in the Pentagon and in the trade press that these things are now being tested," Thompson said.


According to a 2000 report by Air Force Col. Elaine M. Walling, scientists at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico have created microwave sources that generate up to 10 times the amount of energy that Hoover Dam produces in a day.


Such powerful pulses can incapacitate electronic equipment without damaging buildings or harming people, making them an attractive weapon whenever civilian casualties are a concern.


In laboratory tests, microwave pulses can melt silicon chips, pushing their circuits far beyond their capacity to conduct electricity. But on the battlefield, even the most impressive e-bomb's effects rapidly diminish with distance. Although e-bombs' capabilities are classified, military analysts believe their range is a few hundred yards at most.


That relatively short range decreases the odds that hospitals, orphanages and other civilian infrastructure will be affected, unless they are directly adjacent to or networked with military targets.


"I think it is almost always more humane to use this compared to a conventional weapon," Thompson said.


The bombs' effects are also hard to predict, analysts say. The surge of electricity produced by a microwave pulse could go directly to the nearest bank of military supercomputers, or it could just as easily be shunted harmlessly into the ground.


"The effects are hard to focus. The moment the energy is absorbed into wiring or other electrically conductive material you don't know where it's going to go," Thompson said.


Those uncertainties and others may prevent e-bombs from playing a major role in the anticipated U.S. offensive against Iraq, said Lt. Col. Piers Wood, a military analyst at the defense policy think-tank globalsecurity.org.


"There will be a few commanders who will see these and get to try them out," Wood said. "We're not talking about arsenals of these things."


Defense experts are particularly eager to see if e-bombs can reach into deep underground bunkers that could otherwise be neutralized only by tactical nuclear weapons. By shutting off the electricity, a microwave weapon could render a bunker uninhabitable by disabling lighting, security systems, ventilation and computers.

Eventually, Wood said, other nations may acquire high power microwave weapons; American forces, which depend so heavily on technology, would be particularly vulnerable to them. He predicted that soon all military electronics will have to be protected from high power microwaves by metal casings, with sophisticated circuit breakers connected to any incoming wires.

[talisman]

Roughly 45 minutes probably.

[Jedi]

Ahh, EMP (ElectroMagnetic Pulse) weapons. Those are actually one of the type of weapons that the US Gov't is scared to death that terrorists have access to or could develop. Imagine a EMP weapon set off in downtown. Anything electrical would become inert. ANYTHING.

Instant removal of technology.

[PeeWeeC5]

Not till tomorrow or later.. They talk as if they dont want to attack while there haveing the severe sand storms that they are.. I hope the start dropping Bombs BEFOR 7:00.:mad:

[talisman]

I just hope it happens while I'm not at work. I want to be able to see whats going on when it starts.

[01WhiteCobra]

What's the Vegas Line on the first drop?

[87notch]

One minute after midnight Iraq time.

The best time to strike is at night. Shock effect/ confusion.

-b

[Yellowstang]

Originally posted by 01WhiteCobra
What's the Vegas Line on the first drop?

They have odds for everything in Vegas, but I can't find one for the first bomb!

http://www.bodog.com/global/schedules/schedule.jsp?PIC=Lines&SPORT=NSE

[66Deuce]

It's 7:01.. nothing yet....still waiting though.

[Yellowstang]

Originally posted by 66Deuce
It's 7:01.. nothing yet....still waiting though.

Damnit! That's why I don't bet in Vegas :D

Wait, maybe they used an "E Bomb" and just can't tell us about it yet. Knocked out all communications...:rolleyes: :D

[c8ball9]

same here it is 7:10 yalls time, and i am sitting here waiting

[66Deuce]

They are saying possibly around 8pm on abcnews.com

[Yellowstang]

Official says Bush could wait to give "go" order and let Iraqi military "stare up at the sky for a little bit"

Got that from cnn.com



LMAO, the President hopefully said that, then we bomb the hell outa them!

[GTek]

There's a big full moon. Not too good for night ops.

[trey85stang]

Originally posted by GTek
There's a big full moon. Not too good for night ops.

suns not to far away from being up in Iraq, I think it is about 5AM there right now