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posted by cmn32480 on Saturday July 11 2015, @02:21AM   Printer-friendly
from the ka-boom dept.

W. J. Hennigan reports at the LA Times that as diplomats rush to reach an agreement to curb Iran's nuclear program, the US military is stockpiling conventional bombs so powerful that strategists say they could cripple Tehran's most heavily fortified nuclear complexes. The bunker-busting bombs are America's most destructive munitions short of atomic weapons and at 15 tons, each is 5 tons heavier than any other bomb in the US arsenal. "The Pentagon continues to be focused on being able to provide military options for Iran if needed," says a senior US official. "We have not taken our eyes off the ball."

Obama has made it clear that he has no desire to order an attack, warning that US airstrikes on Iran's air defense network and nuclear facilities would spark a destabilizing new war in the Middle East, and would only delay Iran by several years should it choose to build a bomb. "A military solution will not fix it," says Obama. An attack "would temporarily slow down an Iranian nuclear program, but it will not eliminate it." That being said the latest iteration of the massive ordnance penetrator (MOP) was successfully tested on a deeply buried target in January at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The test followed upgrades to the bomb's guidance system and electronics to stop jammers from sending it off course. B-2 stealth bombers would be required to drop the MOP, which is designed to burrow 200 feet underground before it detonates. Multiple MOPs probably would be aimed at the same target to bore deeper and achieve maximum destruction. A US attack could spark a broader war in the world's most volatile region. Iran has hundreds of medium-range missiles capable of hitting Israel, Jordan and other American allies, according to defense intelligence estimates. "It would create huge problems," says Michael E. O'Hanlon. "That said, it's hard to rule out if talks fail."


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Hairyfeet on Saturday July 11 2015, @12:49PM

    by Hairyfeet (75) <{bassbeast1968} {at} {gmail.com}> on Saturday July 11 2015, @12:49PM (#207855) Journal

    You want to know what the government officials actually believe when it comes to the ME? I live next to a conservative college that cranks out a LOT of government officials as well as government think tank types and their beliefs can be summarized as follows....do what Israel says, no matter what, even if it is harmful to the country, because if you don't? Then Jesus won't have a place to park his fluffy cloud and he won't come back.

    Dude I WISH I was fucking joking but I'm not, they REALLY believe that shit hard fucking core. you have people in the halls of power basing decisions that will affect millions of lives and an entire region based on a single bit from a 2000+ year old text written by sheep herders. Say what you want about the Muslims being religious whack-a-doodles but sadly we have just as many in power that is just as whack-a-doodle when it comes to religion and in a way I'd say its worse as at least their religious whack-a-doodle beliefs are based on a kind of nationalism, ours gives us shit like AIPAC and our leaders actively subverting our own interests for the interests of a foreign power half the world away because a book written in that region thousands of years ago says a certain area has to have a certain race on it so a dead messiah can float down from the sky!

    So even if we were to switch to 100% renewables, even if we never took a drop of oil from the ME ever again (which last I checked we are getting ours from Canada and South America not the ME) it really wouldn't matter, we'd still be starting shit because a section of the most powerful elites believe it is the "sacred mission" of the USA to be the attack dog for Israel and to do what they say, no matter what.

    --
    ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
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