One day after the Trump administration demonstratively used the GBU-43/B Massive Ordinance Air Blast bomb (MOAB, also known as Mother Of All Bombs) the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the US arsenal in Afghanistan, in a clear show of force meant to send a signal to North Korea, it released a video of the explosion.
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Afghan officials said 36 militants were killed in the strike in Nangarhar province, near the Pakistan border, where the US military previously estimated ISIS had 600 to 800 active fighters. There were no civilian casualties, according to the Ministry of Defense statement, which also said several ISIS caves and ammunition caches were destroyed. U.S. officials said precautions were taken to avoid civilian casualties. The ISIS commander in the area was among the dead, Afghanistan’s presidential palace said.
Hakim Khan, 50, a resident of Achin district where the attack took place, was quoted by CBS as saying he welcomed the attack on ISIS, saying, “I want 100 times more bombings on this group.”
But fierce opposition among Afghans also surfaced. Former President Hamid Karzai condemned the strike, saying it “is not the war on terror but inhuman, and (the) most brutal misuse of our country as (a) testing ground for new and dangeorus weapons. It is upon us,Afghans, to stop the USA.”
Karzi said, “I vehemently and in strongest words condemn the dropping of the latest weapon.”
Others were similarly stunned by the unexpected US show of force.
Since news of the strike broke, most social media users in Afghanistan criticized both the Afghan government and U.S. One user calleld it “our generation’s “Hiroshima,” adding, “I’m still in shock.”
In a 2003 review of the legality of using the MOAB, the Pentagon concluded that it could not be called an indiscriminate killer under the Law of Armed Conflict. “Although the MOAB weapon leaves a large footprint, it is discriminate and requires a deliberate launching toward the target,” the review said, adding, “It is expected that the weapon will have a substantial psychological effect on those who witness its use.”
Meanwhile, President Trump called the attack a “very, very successful mission.” The U.S. military headquarters in Kabul said in a statement that the bomb was dropped at 7:32 p.m. local time Thursday on a tunnel complex in Achin district of Nangarhar province, where the Afghan affiliate of ISIS has been operating. The target was close to the Pakistani border.
The U.S. estimates 600 to 800 IS fighters are present in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. The U.S. has concentrated heavily on combatting them while also supporting Afghan forces battling the Taliban. Just last week a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier, Staff Sgt. Mark R. De Alencar, 37, of Edgewood, Maryland, was killed in action in Nangarhar.
According to CBS, Adam Stump, a Pentagon spokesman, said the bomb was dropped from a U.S. MC-130 special operations transport. He said the bomb had been brought to Afghanistan “some time ago” for potential use. Army Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in a written statement that the strike was designed to minimize the risk to Afghan and U.S. forces conducting clearing operations in the Achin area “while maximizing the destruction” of ISIS fighters and facilities. He said ISIS has been using improvised explosive devices, bunkers and tunnels to strengthen its defenses.
“This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K,” he added, using the U.S. military’s acronym for the ISIS affiliate.
Ismail Shinwari, the governor of Achin district, said the U.S. attack was carried out in a remote mountainous area with no civilian homes nearby. He said there has been heavy fighting in the area in recent weeks between Afghan forces and ISIS militants.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said ISIS fighters had used the tunnels and caves in Achin to maneuver freely. “The United States takes the fight against ISIS very seriously and, in order to defeat the group, we must deny them operational space, which we did,” Spicer said.
* * *
With that we now turn our attention to North Korea, where many expect that an explosion of a similar magnitude is imminent over the next 48 hours.
Karzi said, “I vehemently and in strongest words condemn the dropping of the latest weapon.”
I’m shocked.
ISIS = Sunni
Karzai = Sunni
Karzai has always been most worried about being offed by more militant Pashtuns. He’s a politician, always trying to placate all sides.
“…many expect that an explosion of a similar magnitude is imminent over the next 48 hours.”
Just in time for Easter. How convenient of those guys to schedule it for the holiest day of the year.
Wonder why.
It’s much cheaper, and easier, to just surrender.
Are we at war? With whom? Please identify the enemy. Please explain how victory is achieved. Will there be a surrender ceremony on the USS Missouri?
Your drivel is getting tiring. No facts. No thought process. Just neo-con narratives.
You’re right.
We have no enemies in the world.
And no one wishes us or our interests harm or destruction.
If only we would go away, the world would be again at peace the way it was before we became a nation.
I know I’m right. You avoid dealing with facts because neo-con narratives are your gospel.
I don’t give a fuck if someone doesn’t like my way of life or “wishes” me harm. If they have not invaded my country or threatened my well being, I ignore them. Especially when they are thousands of miles from my shores and living in a 3rd world shithole.
You self proclaimed follower of the risen Christ, turns around and cheers on the destruction of other countries, the indiscriminate bombing of civilians, and spending trillions to police the world.
Your utter ignorance about economics and world affairs is stunning in its breadth.
The Pentagram has no concept of ROI. Unlimited funding will do that.
More snowflake tears. You want a surrender like the Japanese? Tell us you will support all out war on the enemy, Islam complete with nuclear weapons and the devastation of all Islamic cities.
Cheap braying from an ignorant clown.
It looks like our 80 IQ demographic is chiming in with inane drivel on the level of 2nd grader. No one even knows what the fuck you are saying because it is coming from the mind of a barely functional retard. Looks like this douchebag is all in on the pretend war on terror. Dumbfucks seem to be popping up on TBP more often these days. I guess I do need to institute an IQ test to weed out these morons.
Population of Iraq = 25M Afgan = 25M Total Pop = 50M 5 Trillion dollars invested in these countries so far = $100,000 per citizen! With that kind of investment in their home land these people should love us and the USA.
Yeah, we invested $100,000 per citizen in munitions. For $100k a person we should have killed them all.
You mean like blacks after 21 trillion has been spent on them in the War on poverty?
You really have to add the 500k per fighter spent by the CIA to train and arm ISIS on top of the 444,444 dollars to kill a ISIS fighter, so let’s just round it up to 1 MILLION per…..Mkaaaay.
What a fukkin dog and pony show this is. And I didn’t even factor in the cost of the writers for the fake MSM news feed to keep this narrative going.
“Meanwhile, crucial bridges connecting Pennsylvania to New Jersey fail and are shut down”
But who want’s to go to NJ anyway?
I know I don’t. 🙂
“Great, how much did that cost us?” was my first thought on hearing about the MOAB.
I hate the blatant hypocrisy. Of the Dems. Of the Socialists. Of the damned Republicans/Neocons.
But most of all of the American People. They’ve fully bought into the idea of “thee and me” and rabble rouse with each other over the most inane bullshit while our very way of life is being ripped away by greed and stupidity.
The Third Turning didn’t have to be prophetic, but its shaping up that way. By 2028 we will be fully out of it, I can’t wait to see what steps backwards we’ve taken by then.
Clearly what we need in Afghanistan is a large, inexpensive anti-personnel bomb that can be dropped out of aircraft or helicopters. Exactly like a barrel bomb. Maybe we could get Assad to forward the blueprints. Oh wait, nevermind. Nobody profits from a cheap bomb.
Too bad the same can be said about our socialist-education industrial complex.
Great video. Oooooooooooooooo. Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh. Fuck yeah! GET SOME! Murica! Oh HELL yeah. THAT’S why!
Damn right, Stubb. Merka has clearly beat the fuck out of terror this time. USA! USA! USA!
The MOAB may have been built in my wife’s hometown in Nowheresville, OK.
I’m sure the local yokels are rejoicing that the bomb factory is in high demand, and optimistic that they’re going to need to ramp up production.
Another true believer demonstrates his compassion. What did you major in skippy, lesbian, interpretive dance?
For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction: Newton’s Third Law. More people should study physics. The US was once again reacting to Mohammad’s Barbaric Laws. There must now be another Islamic Reaction (Chain Reaction Violence: Mohammad’s First Law) and on and on. It will ultimately end when the Islamabombist experience the MOAHBs Chain Reaction that consumes all Islam and reduces it in Hell’s Fires to glass and glowing dust. The rest of the World finds fault in everything we do but this event will bring them all out dancing in the streets.
“In a 2003 review of the legality of using the MOAB, the Pentagon concluded that it could not be called an indiscriminate killer under the Law of Armed Conflict. ‘Although the MOAB weapon leaves a large footprint, it is discriminate and requires a deliberate launching toward the target…’ ”
That’s some funny shit right there.
Yeah, I saw that. This sounds like they’re saying that just because the bomb can be dropped with some degree of accuracy, it doesn’t indiscriminately destroy lives and property where it detonates.
By that standard, a nuke that destroys an entire city can’t be called an indiscriminate killer because it can be aimed at a single city. These people must huff solvents before coming up with shit like this.
Fuck! You could have bought those “fighters” off with some cheap street whores or at least a virgin goat for a hell of a lot less money. But hey! got to keep the US war machine rolling.
We have two realistic options, war to the knife, or get the hell out.
There is no stomach for doing it the Roman or Mongol way (or how WW2 was fought), and feeding the meat grinder just enough to piss off and provide recruits for the enemy damn sure isn’t working.
It’s the bomb them all, invite them all, and bribe them all strategy.
What a concept. Of, by, and for politicians and their crony suck-ups.
So we warn Assad about dropping barrel bombs, while we dropped the biggest barrel bomb ever. Too funny!