Why is Bush asking for massive bunker busting bombs and modifications to B2 Stealth bombers so that they can carry them in his latest request for funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan? It’s not like these weapons are currently needed to fight “Al Qaeda” in either Iraq or Afghanistan, and even if they were, our complete control of the air over both countries means we wouldn’t need to use stealth bombers. Which means that they can only be intended for one purpose: an attack on Iran, which still has an operational air defense system for which stealth warplanes would be needed.
Tucked inside the White House’s $196 billion emergency funding request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is an item that has some people wondering whether the administration is preparing for military action against Iran.
The item: $88 million to modify B-2 stealth bombers so they can carry a newly developed 30,000-pound bomb called the massive ordnance penetrator, or, in military-speak, the MOP.
The MOP is the the military’s largest conventional bomb, a super “bunker-buster” capable of destroying hardened targets deep underground. The one-line explanation for the request said it is in response to “an urgent operational need from theater commanders.” […]
There doesn’t appear to be any potential targets for a bomb like that in Iraq. It could potentially be used on Taliban or al Qaeda hideouts in the caves along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, but there would be no need to use a stealth bomber there.
So where would the military use a stealth bomber armed with a 30,000-pound bomb like this? Defense analysts say the most likely target for this bomb would be Iran’s flagship nuclear facility in Natanz, which is both heavily fortified and deeply buried.
When the the Pentagon and CENTCOM were contacted about this “urgent need” ABC’s reporters were given the run around by military spokespersons. However, it seems quite clear that the oinly reason to modify Stealth bombers to carry these large bunker busting bombs would be to attack Iran. Doesn’t mean an attack is necessarily imminent, but it also stronly suggests that Bush intends to attack Iran before his term of office is up. If Congress allows this funding to go forward without questioning the need for this particualr item they will be enabling our “Decider in Chief” to take matters into his own hands whenever he feels like it.
So, maybe you should contact your Congressional Representatives and inform them about this peculiar request, and remind them that the last thing we need or desire at this time is another “preventive war” in the Middle East against a country that currently poses little if any threat to our security. Here’s are links where you can reach your Senators and Representatives, respectively:
and his a list of Congressional email addresses: LINK.
If you don’t know the identity of your Congressperson, go to the following link and click on your state to find out: LINK
“We can’t divulge that information because it is a matter of national security.”
An “urgent matter of national security” no doubt.
30,000 lbs. is ridiculous. That’ll crack the tectonic plates for chrissakes.
It’s the equivalent of a 30 kiloton nuke. Dobt it would crack any tectonic plates (and yes, I know you were being snarky) but it would cause massive damage, kill thousands of people and spew radiation into the air from the nuclear fuel located at the Natanz. Only marginally better than using real nukes.
It’s the equivalent of a 30 kiloton nuke.
Are you sure, Steven? In my estimation; 30 kiloton = 30,000 tons = 30,000,000 kg.
Mea culpa. I should think before I type.
This article suggests how these bunker buster bombs might be used: multiple bombs exploded in tandem to great a shock wave: Link:
This presentation from David Burns of the Medium Caliber Weapons Systems Branch of ARDEC reveals much more about the weapon than previously released. In particular, it is described as being able to dig down to 150 feet. That’s impressive on its own, but the `Concept Of Operations’ in Slide 4 is staggering: an array of 20 Deep Diggers would be detonated together to produce a shockwave which will collapse all underground structures to a depth of 300 feet over a 200-yard square area. […]
The secret is in effectively combining 20 separate explosions into a coherent pulse. This area has been researched for many years, in particular in the 90’s under the name of ACE, for Array of Conventional Explosives. It takes a phenomenal amount of computing power to calculate the non-linear effects of multiple explosions combining in a three-dimensional volume (which may not be homogenous), and new software tools were developed for the job. In addition, real-world testing is needed to validate these models – hence exercises like the notorious Divine Strake which involves a underground explosion of 700 tons of explosives.
maybe we should consider using the mop on congress… we petition, beg and plead for congress to listen to the american people and what response do we get…? we have the most criminal people in the country’s history running our government and wreaking total havoc on the nation and the rest of the world, and, despite our entreaties on bended knee, what’s congress doing…? nada… zip… zero…
why make us suffer more than we already have by watching congress engage in an elaborate and empty charade of separation of powers, adherence to the constitution and respect for the rule of law… give bush carte blanche to run the country any way he wants – which he’s doing anyway – and we can get on with the grief process over the loss of our democratic republic… we’ve been through shock, anger and rejection, so we might as well get cracking on acceptance…