Everyone should always be prepared for a cyber attack that could cripple the power grid. Edit 2: I am not saying that an Iranian attack is at all likely, it's just sensible to be prepared for anything. Plan with your family what to do should cell phones be inoperable, traffic lights go out (assume total gridlock, and cars become useless), obviously no internet, etc. Worst case scenario is that you've wasted a few minutes of your time, and an attack never comes. Anyway, if I were considering a cyber attack against the U.S., I'd launch any major attack smack dab in the middle of the American workday, like 12:00 CDT/CST. But like the Forbes article says, it would take time to prepare on-the-ground assets. Would love to hear your 2 cents, 'bl00. Edit: is there any sort of widely-used mesh network app for smartphones?
If I were Iran I wouldn't strike at the US populace at all. Stephen Kinzer made the point that popular hatred of America by Iranians takes a lot of effort to sustain - Tehran had a street named after an American missionary until recently and Iran were big boosters of America up until Mossadegh. It was the ties between Pahlavi and the CIA that created the whole "Great Satan" trope and if you look at Iranian actions in the Middle East they're largely against the military and intelligence. Iran got their vengeance for SAVAK through the Marine bombings and capturing and killing William Francis Buckley, CIA station chief for South Asia. The IRGC was maybe? involved in the USS Cole? But the Cole was such an operational clusterfuck that the best way to look at it is the Iranians threw some money at a bunch of Yemeni freelancers who if the Iranians had so much as given them a "blowing things up for Dummies" book would have had a lot more success. You probably know that as America's founding general fearlessly leading his noble troops to victory against an overwhelming and oppressive foreign invader. In the context of the time, though, that's a traitorous rebel terrorist striking a peacekeeping garrison WELL outside the bounds of conventional warfare. Who the fuck fights on Christmas? WINNERS as it turns out. The Iranians aren't unprincipled. They're fighting asymmetrical, unconventional warfare on terms the US does not officially fight but from an Iranian perspective, they're fighting a war, not slaughtering civilians. "Civilians" as defined by the Iranians, that is. I'll bet Jared Kushner has been told he's not leaving the continental US any time soon and I'll bet Mar El Lago is tight as a fucking drum right now.
Hezbollah's response is at least somewhat closer to actual de-escalation. Trump and Pompeo are like "Yep, we're de-escalating things on our end by making threats that may involve war crimes, sending 3,500 more troops, and probably eventually blaming the Iranian government for the acts of terrorists we created when we were de-escalating things yesterday."
Ha! Fooled ya. I'm not saying that large-scale cyber warfare is imminent, by any means. It's just something people should have a plan for, and generally don't. I've reworded my post to sound less alarmist, such wasn't my intent. At least prepare for electric grid failure in the event Earth is hit by a sizeable coronal mass ejection, which will become more likely (though still a long shot, statistically) as we approach solar maximum in about four years. And once I'm finally done with school, I'm gonna get Ham radio operator certs. Not primarily because tinfoil; because fun. But hey, this is the first time we've killed a senior member of another nation's military since WW2. To pretend like none of this is a big deal is also probably unwise.
...well... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrest_and_assassination_of_Ngo_Dinh_Diem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrice_Lumumba#Final_days_and_executionBut hey, this is the first time we've killed a senior member of another nation's military since WW2.
Thanks, but it’s the arbitrary frequency band allocations, esoteric procedures, and the lack of urgency edging me out for now. I just need to PhD this year, or really, ASAP. The radios themselves are cheap, handheld, and I could learn a lot just by listening. That sounds like my jam. Soon!
Agree on all counts. My first reaction to all of this was a sense of embarrassment. Then, yeah, fear that Trump is doing this for political and/or personal gain, and sorrow for all of the people who will needlessly die. It's a shame that killing Sunni extremists almost exclusively wasn't enough. So I guess it's on with all of Islam, now? Brilliant.