ABLs Good – Iran Scud Attack 2AC

ABL is key to prevent devastating scud attack from Iran

Carafano 10 (James Heritage Foundation Feb 22 http://www.opposingviews.com/i/dumping-airborne-laser-leaves-america-
vulnerable-to-nuclear-attack TBC 7/6/10)
On the other hand, here is what the administration won’t admit. There are other threats already out there that the Airborne Laser is
well-suited to counter. One such danger is the “Scud in bucket” scenario. Scud missiles are shorter-range weapons, originally
manufactured and proliferated worldwide by the Soviets. Today, several other countries make their own versions. These missiles are so readily
available — and cheap — that several years ago a U.S. arms collector bought one and tried to ship it home. Iran’s Shahab-3, an advanced Scud variant,
seems capable of traveling 1,000 kilometers and carrying as much as a 10-kiloton warhead. It couldn’t reach Washington from Tehran, but then, it wouldn’t
have to. Iran could easily extend the missile’s reach simply by moving it to a commercial freighter and firing it from
nearby using an improvised vertical launch tube disguised as cargo. In many ways, Scud in a bucket is the ultimate
weapon. It could sail close to U.S. waters without being subject to inspection by the Coast Guard or Customs. The enemy could fire the missile and
scuttle the ship, leaving no record of who launched the attack. If Iran has one missile and nuclear weapon, it might have two. It could
detonate one over New York in a low-altitude air burst that would kill up to a half-million and cripple Manhattan forever. Iran
could fire a second at high altitude over the mid-Atlantic states, creating an electro-magnetic pulse that would take down a large portion of
America would be crippled in a flash, with no obvious enemy at
the national grid and plunge Washington, D.C., into permanent darkness.
which to shoot back. An ABL could help neutralize this threat, and others. Advancing the technology alone will give
the U.S. a dramatic advantage over potential adversaries. But if the administration has its way, we’ll see the ABL in the Smithsonian,
rather than defending our coasts.