I have been engaging in that annual American ritual know as "Paying Taxes." I always delay, put it off, I don't know I guess in the expectation that it will all hurt less if I wait . . . but, no. I took a huge hit this year, much more than I had expected.
I don't mind paying as long as we spend my money on things like this,
US drops LARGEST non-nuclear bomb in combat for FIRST time
THE United States has dropped a Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb – the largest non-nuclear weapon in its arsenal – on an ISIS tunnel target in Afghanistan.
The bomb – twice the size of the nuke dropped on Hiroshima – was dropped on Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, the Pentagon has confirmed.
The blast radius is believed to be over 300 meters and the weapon is described as "the father of all bombs".
They liked bombs...we gave them one.
ReplyDeleteAre we sure there weren't any women and children there? Did Ivanka approve this?
ReplyDelete"The bomb – twice the size of the nuke dropped on Hiroshima – was dropped on Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, the Pentagon has confirmed."
ReplyDeleteFirst Atomic Bomb Dropped on Japan; Missile Is Equal to 20,000 Tons of TNT; Truman Warns Foe of a 'Rain of Ruin'
The way bombs are normally measured, the Hiroshima bomb was approximately 2,000 times bigger - approximately 20,000 tons versus approximately 20,000 pounds.
Good point... guessing that the physical size of the MOAB was twice the atom bomb... so much for journalism these days.
DeleteGood point of course but, MOAB is a tad bit different. And, it's a difference that should be considered, a whole lot of difference.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermobaric_weapon
JK
MOAB -- MOTHER Of All Bombs. Russia is claiming that they have the Father Of All Bombs FOAB ... 4 times bigger ... doubtful. The pressure wave from the explosion likely killed thousands in the ISIS tunnel complex. Money well spent.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't we do this under Obama?
Only 36 ISIS killed. Shoot! Still worth it ...
DeleteTen million dollars each seems a tad steep ROI to me.
DeleteActual cost (not counting research) is under $200,000 including guidance.
DeleteSorry, that you live in Kalistan. The tax burden placed upon the residents of that state are horrible, just in the fact of seeing how all that money is pissed away on leftist feel good projects.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me bomb was two things; 1) tactically a very smart move: it clears out tunnels and destroys routes used by Taliban and ISIS fighters. 2) strategically a very smart move: in its size, it sends a message: when we fight, we are going to get serious about it. However, imho, Trump does need to do some clarification as to our long term goals in Afghanistan. What exactly are we now going to be fighting to achieve. Kill offer the Taliban and any remnants of all Al Qeada? Build a nation? What is the mission? I agree with Trump about not announcing strategy or tactics. But in broad terms, we need to know what our big picture goals now are in Afghanistan. Has Trump himself decided? Imho, Trump needs to let the nation in on this.
ReplyDeleteI trust Trump, with one caveat which has come to the forefront since the Syria strike: the influence of Ivanka (and therefore Jared through whom she can also influence Donald.) Ivanka, the sainted Ivanka, beloved by all who meet her, lib or conservative. I do not share that love. She is a Dem., with all kinds of mushy liberal views and goals, and in my view, simply a brighter, more savvy, slightly more self-aware and, to give her credit, much less snobby, version of the universally derided Gynweth Paltrow. Even if I am wrong about that, it is still undisputed she and Jared are liberals whose social circles are lib. Proof there is reason for concern: Eric, normally a bright young man, tweeted out Ivanka was instrumental in convincing Trump to do Syrian strike. Eric may be correct or may not be. But think of what a blind spot that tweet reveals in the whole family about Ivanka's presence and role. Like or hate Trump, agree with Syrian strike or not, who wants to think that Ivanka is the person convincing Donald, esp. in foreign affairs? Eric had no clue that there was anything wrong with that tweet. Ivanka (and by extension, Jared) appears to exert a very strong, very unusual influence over everyone in that family, including apparently Donald. Given their ideological beliefs and pull of their social circle, I have concern that that influence will take Trump in wrong directions.
Was there any thought that Jenna influenced W?
DeleteI think Ivanka is much brighter than Jenna, and of more substance. Yet to me, she still seems to be a version of Gwyneth Paltrow, albeit a much improved version. I haven't seen or heard enough of Jenna to have much of an opinion about her aside from not very bright. (Am I wrong about that? ) I think the interesting Bush twin, of whom we hear almost nothing, is Barbara. An outright lib. She lives in NY. Close friends with Chelsea? It would seem a natural, but if so, we never hear anything of it - or of her.
But whatever, I want Ivanka and Jared out of the W.H. They have always been my biggest concern about Trump, and if she is a benevolent influence, how come she can have opinions and influence on campaign managers, maternity leave and foreign policy, but can't convince Donald to be a lttle less manic and little more judicious in tweeting?
...the blast of the Hiroshima bomb was much greater, but the weight of the MOAB was more...comparable to the British Grand Slam at 22,000 lb...I expect the MOAB blast was more than Grand Slam, since MOAB is a fuel-air bomb and Grand Slam had a lot of steel casing-being designed as a deep penetration "earthquake bomb"...
ReplyDeleteMOAB is not fuel-air. All reactants are on board. Just a big honking bomb. I'm guessing they were concerned about terrain messing with a fuel-air bomb? Not sure.
Delete- reader #1482
This is above at 5:50 but, just in case;
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermobaric_weapon
JK
The Mother in Law of all bombs was the movie "Heavens Gate" and probably did much more damage.
ReplyDeleteWhy is everyone comparing the MOAB to a nuke? There really is no comparison. Try comparing it to the British 22,000 lb Grand Slam from WW II. The Grand Slam and its smaller sibling the 12,000 lb Tall Boy were a class of Earthquake bombs. Dropped from high altitude, they hit the ground at supersonic speeds, burying themselves 100s of feet down before detonating. The theory was to shatter the foundations of buildings, rendering them unrepairable. They also came in handy as the Germans started moving manufacturing underground and against the massive concrete sub pens in France.
ReplyDeleteThat said, who thinks this was really needed in Afghanistan? I think it was a practice run because they wanted to see how it worked in a real cave complex without having to fill out an environmental impact statement. Like the missile attack in Syria that wasn't for Assad, what do you bet the NoKos spent the day measuring the thickness of their bunkers.
We have bunker busters for "bunkers".
DeleteThe MOAB is detonated above ground.
Barry
Would definitely need a specific multi-stage bunker-buster to get hundreds of feet down. Kinetic drop simply won't do that.... not even in water.
DeleteAll of these comparisons with the Hiroshima bomb are interesting enough but if you really want to send ISIS back to the stone age (actually, I think that's what ISIS wants) you need to hit them with whatever did that to Detroit.
ReplyDeleteThe next question is whether or not we can turn Detroit into Hiroshima.
The BDA will be long in coming for the targeted tunnel complex in Nangarhar. I just hope the intel was good and that they were able to bury (forever) large sums of supplies and many, many jellied and flattened Jihadis.
Fair point... don't invade Syria, simply appoint Hillary as their President. No more Syria.
DeleteAfghanistan, as a former Soviet satrapy, has already experienced socialist government.
Delete"US drops LARGEST non-nuclear bomb": bollocks. In WWII the RAF dropped the 'Grand Slam' bomb: officially known as Bomb, Medium Capacity, 22,000 lb.
ReplyDeleteWhy would you use an air-burst bomb against tunnels? Surely an earthquake bomb would be the weapon of choice?
ReplyDeleteThe MOAB/GBU-43 is a fuel-air explosive. It consumes oxygen. There's not a lot of oxygen in tunnels. Additionally, fuel-air bombs create damage (and death) by generating massive over-pressure which is especially lethal and destructive in tight spaces. Imagine your ear is an ISIS tunnel, your ear drum is Mohammed Mohammed and the flattened palm of Mike Tyson is the MOAB... actually, it might be better to imagine someone else's ear. Don't try this at home.
DeleteMost of the articles I've seen on this topic were published shortly after the announcement of the use of the MOAB and produced in a vacuum of knowledge characteristic of mass media ignorance (of most things). This vacuum would make the MOAB itself quite envious.
Using a penetrator type bomb designed to strike at hardened and deeply buried targets isn't really necessary for this task unless the entrances to the target are heavily shielded. While such a bomb could produce greater effects, killing the same ISIS savages more than you did with a MOAB might be satisfying but it's also more expensive and it takes one bomb out of the inventory that will be needed for Iran or North Korea.
Grand Slams were RAF weapons, as you pointed out. I think some of the poorly written articles you've seen in the last day or so are probably not making it clear that the GBU-43 is the largest non-nuclear weapon of its kind, by weight, in the US inventory. I'm not an expert - and I rarely stay at the Holiday Inn Express - but the Grand Slam was not a penetrator type of ordnance but was intended for use on concrete bunkers and submarine pens and delivered in a way that would require a direct hit to be most effective. A MOAB only needs to come close to flatten and suffocate. Praise Allah.
Not fuel-air... it is air-burst, it's daisy-cutter style, slightly above ground level explosive.
DeleteBummer! I was thinking it was fuel-air. Looks like I need to subscribe to Janes.
Delete"the Grand Slam was not a penetrator type of ordnance": oh yes it was.
ReplyDelete" ... but was intended for use on concrete bunkers and submarine pens and delivered in a way that would require a direct hit to be most effective.": no, the beauty was that even a near miss would be effective because it generated a local earthquake. WKPD: "the Bielefeld viaduct collapsed through the 'earthquake effect' of the Grand Slams and Tallboys". (Tallboy was a smaller brother of Grand Slam.)
I think you're right - in it's day it was a unique weapon - and I stand corrected but by comparison it would not fill the role of today's counterparts.
DeleteI suspect that MOAB was used rather than an earthquake bomb, because Shock and Awe, and because it makes better TV.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to say for certain but there's no denying the image of an above ground fireball, just understand that the effects inside the tunnels are the important part. Without knowing the geology of the the caves and tunnels involved, it could be that our current inventory of bombs designed to destroy hard and deeply buried targets might not have been the most effective option. I'd leave it to the targeteers to make the final determination but I hope they go all out to get a thorough bomb damage assessment. There are many more caves and tunnels to consider in Afghanistan and if that presents an opportunity to fine tune for Iran and North Korea, then they ought not to miss the chance.
DeleteThe claimed 36 dead: how do they know? Do they count the molecules?
ReplyDeleteNow at 92 and will go up.
Delete500. 900. Do I hear a thousand?
DeleteIt's a made-up number. If the buggers were in a warren of tunnels you'll never know how many you killed. Who on earth do they think they are fooling with this sort of tosh?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermobaric_weapon
ReplyDeleteJK
I do think it was a type of fuel-air bomb. It uses oxygen in the air and cannot be used, for example, under water. Tom Clancy had a good description of a fuel air bomb in his novel "Red Storm Rising" in which he also revealed the existence of the stealth fighter.
ReplyDeleteA bit off topic but I would love to get your take on this analysis of Xi's visit and the Nork problem.
ReplyDeleteMK, Trump's executive MO for sure! With many people a little respect goes a long way toward building trust IMHO. The only fly in the ointment I see is that Xi may be a lame Peking duck -- When/Who will the next ChiCom Leader be? ‘Cult of Personalities’ seems to have been problematic in previous ChiCom administrations. Let's hope the wisdom displayed by Trump and Xi thus far -- prove to be the glue both countries can use to form a mutually beneficial and long-term commitment to peace & prosperity in the region-- and other venues too!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of venues and Diplomadic analyses, I see the lefty MEDIA may have begun telegraphing the signint that WLA says can predict election outcomes: "Melenchon puts left in contention as French election becomes >>too close to call<<..." (linked on Drudge)
OW~~~ SousMarinineres <3 MarineLaPen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w7jld7CGgo