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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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @12:26AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 12 2015, @12:26AM (#208023)

    The King of Saudi Arabia is the head of the snake...

  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday July 12 2015, @05:35AM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday July 12 2015, @05:35AM (#208072) Journal
    He apparently doesn't like rivals with nuclear weapons. My point behind mentioning that quote is that it illustrates both that Saudi Arabia took this threat of nuclear weapons very seriously (they were at the time speaking to a diplomatic official from the US rather than for public consumption) and second, that if Iran gets nukes, then it's likely to encourage other countries like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt to get their own nuclear weapons. They won't be willing to rely on a comedy leadership from the US to protect them.