Latest Big Lie: Israel's Iron Dome Doesn't Work?

[georgephillip]

All governments lie, and few lie better than the US and Israel.
Especially when there are hundreds of millions of tax dollars to pay defense contractors for missile shields that perform more like missile sieves.

"Just hours after the White House condemned the shelling of a U.N. school in Gaza, the Pentagon confirmed it was providing Israel with fresh supplies of ammunition, including mortar rounds for tanks and ammunition for grenade launchers.

"Meanwhile, members of Congress are working to supply hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding for Israel’s 'Iron Dome' missile shield.

"While U.S. news anchors, pundits and politicians have repeatedly extolled the efficacy of the Iron Dome in deflecting rocket attacks, the acclaimed physicist Theodore Postol says there is no evidence Iron Dome is actually working.

"He estimates the Iron Dome, which is partially built by Raytheon, intercepts just 5 percent of rockets fired at Israel.

"A professor of science, technology and national security policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Postol is an expert in missiles, missile defenses and other aspects of modern warfare."

Would Republicans AND Democrats in DC lie about such a thing?

Iron Dome or Iron Sieve? Evidence Questions Effectiveness of U.S.-Funded Israeli Missile Shield | Democracy Now!

 

[georgephillip]

So if Iron Dome is really an Iron Sieve, what explains the low casualty rate among Israeli civilians?

"During the November 2012 conflict, a detailed review of a large number of photographs of Iron Dome interceptor contrails revealed that the rocket-defense system's success rate was very low—as low as 5 percent or, perhaps, even less.

"A variety of media outlets have attributed the low casualty number to the supposed effectiveness of the Iron Dome system, quoting Israeli officials as saying it has destroyed 90 percent of the Hamas rockets it targeted.

"But close study of photographic and video imagery of Iron Dome engagements with Hamas rockets—both in the current conflict and in the 2012 hostilities—shows that the low casualties in Israel from artillery rocket attacks can be ascribed to Israeli civil defense efforts, rather than the performance of the Iron Dome missile defense system.

"The collection of data for Iron Dome's performance in July 2014 is still in progress.

"The data we have collected so far, however, indicates the performance of Iron Dome has not markedly improved."

The evidence that shows Iron Dome is not working | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

 

[martybegan]

All governments lie, and few lie better than the US and Israel.
Especially when there are hundreds of millions of tax dollars to pay defense contractors for missile shields that perform more like missile sieves.

"Just hours after the White House condemned the shelling of a U.N. school in Gaza, the Pentagon confirmed it was providing Israel with fresh supplies of ammunition, including mortar rounds for tanks and ammunition for grenade launchers.

"Meanwhile, members of Congress are working to supply hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding for Israel’s 'Iron Dome' missile shield.

"While U.S. news anchors, pundits and politicians have repeatedly extolled the efficacy of the Iron Dome in deflecting rocket attacks, the acclaimed physicist Theodore Postol says there is no evidence Iron Dome is actually working.

"He estimates the Iron Dome, which is partially built by Raytheon, intercepts just 5 percent of rockets fired at Israel.

"A professor of science, technology and national security policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Postol is an expert in missiles, missile defenses and other aspects of modern warfare."

Would Republicans AND Democrats in DC lie about such a thing?

Iron Dome or Iron Sieve? Evidence Questions Effectiveness of U.S.-Funded Israeli Missile Shield | Democracy Now!

It only shoots at the ones that may hit a populated area, its smart like that. If you were honest you would talk about the target/intercept ratio, not the intercept/missiles fired ratio.

Stop using your side's piss poor aim as an excuse.

Awwww, poor Georgie has a sad that more Jews are not dying.

 

[Agit8r]

As I understand it, the Iron Dome protects against ballistic missiles, but isn't as effective against small rockets

 

[georgephillip]

As I understand it, the Iron Dome protects against ballistic missiles, but isn't as effective against small rockets

That seems to be one of the points Professor Postol is alleging:
"What performance characteristics make a rocket defense effective?

"To successfully intercept an artillery rocket of the type Hamas has been firing, an Iron Dome interceptor must destroy the warhead on the front end of the rocket.

"If the Iron Dome interceptor instead hits the back end of the target rocket, it will merely damage the expended rocket motor tube, basically an empty pipe, and have essentially no effect on the outcome of the engagement.

"The pieces of the rocket will still fall in the defended area; the warhead will almost certainly go on to the ground and explode. "

If it turns out Israel and the US are lying about Iron Dome, I wonder if it will inspire Americans to start asking about what else the two rogue states are lying about?

The evidence that shows Iron Dome is not working | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists