[DK Zimmerman]

The base theory has been around for a while, I'm thinking I saw a Modern Electronics article on them years ago that said the theory was dated then.

But actually making a functional device is another matter. From that same (time-dimmed) article, they had been tested, completed, and filed away. US interest comes from recent emphasis on means of non-lethal attacks.

[pepsionice]

For those seeking a common sense explanation of what EMP will do to the Iraqi people. Modern civilization ends for those under the EMP umbrella. If you detonate one above Chicago, then everything with 200 miles that is electronic in nature is gone, permanently unless you go out and buy new parts, cable, tv`s, etc. No truck will move. No missile will fire. No radar will function. No hydroelectric dam will produce. No nuke test lab will work. No anthrax test and develop center can operate. No resturant can function, unless you have a plain fire and pots and pans. Life becomes a pretty difficult thing. And for Saddam, it means no communications with anyone unless you send a motorcade to convey your message. You won't see taped interviews or satellite feeds for days if not weeks. Even CNN folks on the ground will back to 1900s if this occurs. This weapon doesn't kill folks, but it will sure make them think about the modern world and how little they really they are in it. Life will never be the same, and the good news is...you didn't kill a single Iraqi with a single missile. They did it to themselves.