america is upfront and forthright about its weapons of mass destruction

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kobayashi

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so forthright that it can be cnn's headline.

from cnn's barbara starr
U.S. tests massive bomb
Designed for use in 'psychological operations'
From Barbara Starr
CNN Washington Bureau
Tuesday, March 11, 2003 Posted: 8:34 PM EST (0134 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Air Force Tuesday tested the biggest conventional bomb in the military's arsenal, dropping the new 21,000-pound device on a test site at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, U.S. officials said.

The Pentagon hopes the test will pave the way for use of the bomb -- should there be a war in Iraq -- against critical targets on the surface and underground.

The new Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB, was dropped from a military transport plane over a test site at Eglin, 60 miles east of Pensacola, Florida, just after 2 p.m.

It was the final test of the new Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or MOAB, and the first to use actual explosives. Two previously undisclosed tests, one in February and one on Friday, were inert.

The Air Force released video of the Tuesday's test, which showed the bomb falling through the sky and bursting into a massive fireball upon impact. A cloud of smoke then rose hundreds of feet into the sky.

The video was released in hopes of placing additional pressure on the Iraqi military, officials said.

"The goal is to have the pressure be so great that Saddam Hussein cooperates," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters. "Short of that -- an unwillingness to cooperate -- the goal is to have the capabilities of the coalition so clear and so obvious that there is an enormous disincentive for the Iraqi military to fight against the coalition."

The National Earthquake Information Center said it found no seismic activity as a result of the explosion, as some in the military had indicated might occur. A 10,000-foot cloud had been expected and local residents had been warned of possible loud noise.

Kathy Fite, a waitress at the International House of Pancakes in Fort Walton Beach, about 20 miles from the test site, said she heard the explosion, but it did not rattle the restaurant's windows or shake the ground.

She described the explosion as loud, but "not real loud." Fite said the blast was comparable to the sound of warships that sometimes test fire in the area.

Pentagon officials said they were examining results of the test to determine whether it worked as designed.

MOAB, privately known in military circles as "the mother of all bombs," has been under development since late last year. The bomb carries 18,000 pounds of tritonal explosives, which have an indefinite shelf life. It replaces the Vietnam-era "Daisy Cutter," a 15,000-pound bomb with 12,600 pounds of the less-powerful GSX explosives.

As originally conceived, the MOAB was to be used against large formations of troops and equipment or hardened above-ground bunkers. The target set has also been expanded to include deeply buried targets.

But military officials tell CNN that the MOAB is mainly conceived as a weapon employed for "psychological operations." Military officials say they hope the MOAB will create such a huge blast that it will rattle Iraq troops and pressure them into surrendering or not even fighting. Officials suggest perhaps the Iraqis might even mistake a MOAB blast for a nuclear detonation.

The MOAB is deployed on a pallet from a C-130 aircraft. It initially has a parachute, but as it deploys, the Inertial Navigation System and Global Positioning System take over. The bomb also has wings and grid fins for guidance.
 
What a beautiful weapon. The "Mother of all Bombs". Sweet rhetorics.

Poor Florida.

What good is a bomb - Public Enemy.
 
It actually will save lives if it works. Unfortunately.....it would also fool them into thinking they were being nuked...and then Saddam might launch his WMD which he does not have.
 
How come one can refer to a deadly toy like that as a "mother" it?s beyond my comprehension...mother of dead people, maybe. Or maybe they should call it for what it is...WMD, simply. Unbelievable.

:down:
 
From The New York Times:

...Officials said they were unaware if the name MOAB was chosen for a biblical reference. According to Genesis, Moab was born through an incestuous relationship between Lot and a daughter following the destruction of Sodom. The Book of Numbers tells how the Israelites chose the Plains of Moab as their final camp before entering the Promised Land.

Religous fanatics?

Klaus
 
gotta admit...that moab is pretty cool


I do believe that if we go to war....the president's FIRST duty is to the safety of our troops....and if this has to be used to secure that...so be it.
 
cool like pompei

sequence.jpg
 
That would be Saddam's fault.

Because he did not disarm!

or

Successfuliy complete regime change

or

turn over his remote control areoplane.
 
DrTeeth:

Well they didn't accidentially drop it on the Chinese embasy, it was Americas protest against Chinas.occupation of Tibet ;)

deep:

Wait until the dust goes away:

About 70% of the Victims of Hiroshima were Children and old people, these weapons of Mass destruction don't see the difference between a Soldier and a innocent baby.
:(

Klaus

p.s. i was thinking about including a picture of that scenario, but i guess that would be too cruel
 
This is one scary bomb, but there are other WMD that are even scarier than nukes.

For example, some of the new electromagnetic pulse weapons, depending on intensity, can simply fry all electronic circuitry, or scramble a human being's brains to mush.

Angels don't play this haarp.
 
Klaus said:
Arun V:

The best for the safty of the troops is if they can stay at home - diplomatic homework could save lifes.

Klaus


isn't that why I said IF we go to war....I'm talking about war...you wanna talk abou diplomacy that's a different thread.




as for a bomb being cool......as an engineer...the sheer amount of technology that is put into these bombs is phenominal....the fact that it is so precise and yet so powerful ...is quite impressive.
 
Dreadsox said:
It actually will save lives if it works.

im slightly disturbed/surprised that someone of your intelligence would actually say something like this.

as for the entire discussion (not directed at dreadsox), i am also very disturbed of the common perception that iraqi lives are less important than american ones.
 
It is supposed to be used to clear large areas of land mines and as a psychological weapon used to convince forces to surrender. In Afghanistan, leaflets were dropped to warn people that the Daisy Cutter was being used to prevent unecessary loss of life. I am comfortable with my statement Thanks for the support of my intlelligence. I will now crawl back into the dark place and continue to not post.
 
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Dreadsox said:
It is supposed to be used to clear large areas of land mines and as a psychological weapon used to convince forces to surrender.

you trust the gov's purpose because...
 
Dreadsox said:
It is supposed to be used to clear large areas of land mines and as a psychological weapon used to convince forces to surrender. In Afghanistan, leaflets were dropped to warn people that the Daisy Cutter was being used to prevent unecessary loss of life. I am comfortable with my statement Thanks for the support of my intlelligence. I will now crawl back into the dark place and continue to not post.

Was it before of after the use of cluster bombs ?

www.hrw.org/press/2002/12/arms1218.htm
 
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