Hot Air Blog Archive - ABC: Pentagon places“urgent”order for four massive bunker-busting bombs »
Posted By pc25 1 month, 3 weeks ago in NewsHe’s got the “speak softly” part pretty well covered. Looks like now it’s time for The One to start carrying the big stick. And I do mean big: It’s the largest non-nuclear explosive on earth.
First, some background: Back in October 2007, ABC News reported that the Pentagon had asked Congress for $88 million in the emergency Iraq/Afghanistan war funding request to develop a gargantuan bunker-busting bomb called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). It’s a 30,000-pound bomb designed to hit targets buried 200 feet below ground. Back then, the Pentagon cited an “urgent operational need” for the new weapon.
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pc251 month, 3 weeks ago
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http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-preparing-bomb-i...
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pc251 month, 3 weeks ago
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http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-amp-space/...
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The Massive Ordnance Penetrator
The Pentagon is trying to speed up the deployment of an ultra-large bunker-busting bomb, which would constitute the largest non-nuclear bomb the U.S. has ever used. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, is a 30,000-pound bomb that would dive deeper than any previous bomb, and could be strapped to B-2 or B-52 bombers by July of 2010.
GBU-24: This GBU-24 bunker buster is tiny in comparison to the new MOP
The MOP is 20 feet long and can penetrate bunkers up to 200 feet before exploding. At 15 tons, the MOP is a third heavier than the previous "mother of all bombs", the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, which was only 10.5 tons. The MOP also packs a whopping 5,300 lbs of explosives, which is 10 times the amount its predecessor bunker-buster, the BLU-109, carried. Basically, it's massive. -
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pc251 month, 3 weeks ago
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http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conserva...
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Will it be Israel, or the US? I wouldn't rule either out depending on how things go in the near term. I honestly don't think Obama wants to allow Iran to have the bomb. And I'm unconvinced he cares enough about international affairs to let any image issues get in his way. His primary agenda has always been domestic in nature. If allowing Iran to go too far would hurt him there, I think he'd likely step up no matter what.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The disappearance of an Iranian nuclear scientist on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June is raising questions about whether he defected and gave the West information on Iran's nuclear program.
Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday accused the United States of involvement in the disappearance of Shahram Amiri, who reportedly worked at a university linked to the elite Revolutionary Guard military corps.
Amiri vanished several months before the September revelation of a uranium enrichment facility near the city of Qom, which the United States and its allies accuse Iran of building secretly. The timing has led experts to question whether Amiri may have given the West information on it or other parts of Iran's nuclear program.
The discovery of that facility was a coup for Western intelligence. Iran denied trying to hide the site, insisting it was not yet required to declare it to the U.N. nuclear watchdog. Still, it was put on the defensive as it entered landmark nuclear negotiations with the U.S. and other world powers last week, talks that have somewhat eased rising tensions between the two sides. -
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