U.S. Drops "Mother Of All Bombs" In Afghanistan, Marking Weapon's First Use

[Ryan Ruck]

Now this is what we should be doing. A lot of!

U.S. Drops "Mother Of All Bombs" In Afghanistan, Marking Weapon's First Use

April 13, 2017

The U.S. dropped a bomb with an explosive force equal to 11 tons of TNT on a cave complex used by the Afghanistan branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Thursday, the Pentagon said.

The bomb is officially called a GBU-43 or Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), the origin of its nickname as the “mother of all bombs.” Weighing more than 21,000 lbs., the weapon is the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat.


In this U.S. Air Force handout, a GBU-43/B bomb, or Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, explodes Nov. 21, 2003, at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

The bomb was aimed at the center of an ISIS cave complex in Afghanistan, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports. The bomb set off a massive pressure cave that would have crushed the life out of any fighters hiding in the cave, and it sent a mushroom-like cloud into the sky, Martin reports.

General John Nicholson, the U.S. Commander in Afghanistan, said he used the bomb so Afghan troops and their American advisers wouldn’t have to go in on the ground to clear out the caves. There are an estimated 600-800 ISIS fighters in Afghanistan, most of them located in Nangarhar province, near the Pakistan border.

The strike had been in the works for a number of months, dating back to the Obama administration, which is when the bomb itself had been moved into Afghanistan. The authority to use the bomb had been delegated to Nicholson, although he notified Washington in advance, Martin reports.

Nicholson sought and obtained permission to use the MOAB, but it’s unclear how far up the chain of command his request traveled, Martin reports.

“What I do is I authorize my military,” Mr. Trump said. “We have the greatest military in the world and they’ve done their job as usual. So, we have given them total authorization and that’s what they’re doing.”

Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai tweeted his anger at the strike, posting in a series of tweets that he “vehemently” opposed the U.S.’s action.

I vehemently and in strongest words condemn the dropping of the latest weapon, the largest non-nuclear #bomb, on Afghanistan by US...1/2

— Hamid Karzai (@KarzaiH) April 13, 2017

2/2 military. This is not the war on terror but the inhuman and most brutal misuse of our country as testing ground for new and dangerous...

— Hamid Karzai (@KarzaiH) April 13, 2017

2/3 weapons. It is upon us,Afghans, to stop the #USA.

— Hamid Karzai (@KarzaiH) April 13, 2017

Earlier at the daily White House briefing, press secretary Sean Spicer declined to say whether Mr. Trump had personally authorized the use of the weapon.

Spicer said that the strike targeted a “system of tunnels and caves that ISIS fighters used to move around freely.” He said the U.S. “took all precautions necessary” to minimize civilian casualties.

A U.S. soldier was killed in combat during an operation in Nangarhar just days before.

In a statement, the U.S. command in Afghanistan said the strike was “designed to minimize the risk to Afghan and U.S. Forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximizing the destruction of ISIS-K fighters and facilities,” using the term for ISIS’s Afghan contingent.

Officials “took every precaution to avoid civilian casualties with this strike,” the statement said.

Marcus Weisgerber, global business editor of Defense One, tells CBS News that this heavy bomb is used to “penetrate through rock and concrete and then once they get through, they explode, creating devastation to whatever is below.”

“It was the type of weapon that was most suited for this type of mission,” Weisgerber tells CBS News. “It was a target below the ground and there are a lot of people there -- and this is the type of weapon that would neutralize that number of people.”

In March 2003, the U.S. military debuted the 21,600-lb. MOAB during a test in Florida shortly before the invasion of Iraq. The test was intended to demonstrate the “enormous incentive” Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had to relinquish power and “spare the world a conflict,” then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said at the time.

The cloud of debris from the ensuing explosion in the 2003 test was visible from more than 20 miles away, according to the Air Force. U.S. and coalition forces invaded Iraq nine days later, and a MOAB was deployed to the region on April 1, 2003, but never used.

Hey Karzai, shut your fucking, goat anus licking mouth before we come over there and shut it for you.

Now go be a good little puppet and stand in the corner quietly or you might wake up and find yourself disappeared to GITMO.

[Ryan Ruck]

Daaaamn... Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!

Afghan Official: Massive US Bomb Death Toll Rises To 94 Militants

April 15, 2017

The number of militants killed in an attack by the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military has risen to 94, an Afghan official said Saturday.

Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar, said the number of Islamic State group dead was up from the 36 reported a day earlier. A Ministry of Defense official had said Friday the number of dead could rise as officials assessed the bomb site in Achin district.

"Fortunately there is no report of civilians being killed in the attack," Khogyani said.

The increased death toll in Nangarhar was announced as officials in southern Helmand province reported at least 11 civilians were killed and one wounded in two roadside bomb blasts overnight.

The U.S. attack on a tunnel complex in remote eastern Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border killed at least four IS group leaders, Khogyani said. He said a clearance operation to assess the site of the attack was continuing.

The strike using the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, was carried out Thursday against an Islamic State group tunnel complex carved into the mountains that Afghan forces had tried to assault repeatedly in recent weeks in fierce fighting in Nangarhar province.

Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Saturday criticized both the Afghan and U.S. governments for the attack in Nangarhar. Addressing a gathering in capital Kabul, Karzai said that allowing the U.S. to carry out the bombing was "treason" and an insult to Afghanistan.

Current President Ashraf Ghani's office said Friday there was "close coordination" between the U.S. military and the Afghan government on the operation, and they were careful to prevent any civilian casualties.

The U.S. estimates 600-800 IS fighters are in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. The U.S. has concentrated on fighting them while also supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban. The U.S. has more than 8,000 US troops in Afghanistan, training local forces and conducting counterterrorism operations.

In Helmand province, at least 11 civilians were killed and one wounded in two roadside bomb blasts late Friday evening, said Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor.

"All victims of the attack were innocent civilians including women and children," said Zwak. The 11 died in a blast in Nawa district when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. Another person was wounded when a second bomb exploded in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, he said.

Also on Saturday, Khogyani said a district leader and three others were wounded when their vehicle was targeted by a bomb. One of the wounded was Ghalib Mujahid, Bati Kot district chief, he said.

"The district chief and others are out of danger and are not in life-threatening condition," he said.

Last November, Mujahid was attacked by a sticky bomb attached to the vehicle and he was wounded and his driver was killed.

[American Patriot]

Byebye Terrorists.