Posted on 12/10/2001 8:39:27 AM PST by Steven W.
Military analysts had long predicted that a key weapon in the US arsenal that would be deployed against caves and other hidden, underground AlQaeda hideouts would be Fuel Air Explosives (FAE). Similar in their degree of potential devestation as the 15000 lb. "daisy cutter" bombs, the Fuel Air Explosives rely on an in-air explosion which would remove all available oxygen from the terrorists hiding in caves & (if not killing them) force them out into the open.
While ferocious bombing of such caves has taken place over the past week at Tora Bora, however, there's been no report of these valuable tools have yet to be employed by the US military. Today, when Cmdr. John Stufflebeem was asked about their usage, the Pentagon revealed the reason: During the eight years of the Clinton administration, the DoD was unable to procure or rebuild our supply of these weapons which, like other munition systems, had been totally depleted during the Gulf War a decade ago.
Similar problems have arisen during the Afghanistan campaign, with the (Washington Times previously reporting US) Navy running out of PGM (Programmable Guided Munitions) early on in the campaign and having to turn to the Air Force for resupply, with the Air Force's former stockpile had also been largely depleted during the Kosovo air campaign. The US faces similar problems with the largely depleted numbers of Cruise Missiles, a favorite tool of distraction for the Clinton Administration, who relied on them frequently during periods of investigation such as points of key testimony during Clinton's impeachment. Thus it was also no surprise that the US has relied considerably on UK + NATO allies for submarine based munitions.
But this latest Pentagon admission, that the US has not resupplied such valuable tools as FAE's over the past eight years, is just further evidence of the degree to which the Clintons thoroughly abused this country and left the US military in a total state of need & neglect.
Are these freeper words or straight from the Pentagon ? The knives are really coming out if the above is a direct quote.
How? If the Commander of the US Armed forces doesn't want to listen to his cabinet generals, what are they to do? Publicly? That's one way to get reassigned to ice station zebra very quickly. Nothing like publicly criticizing your Commander, and making them have to possibly act, and expecting a reward.
I blame the congress, who is supposed to be OF THE PEOPLE, and FOR THE PEOPLE, and to which is passed the duty to protect the people. Instead we’re seeing tax money go to milk in VT, herbal aromatherapy for low-income housing people, and a variety of other pork barrel items.
FAE is a muntion that releases a cloud of flammable droplets over the target and then is ignited, it creates enough pressure to detonate mines and sucks up all the oxygen in the immediate area, think naplam that doen't need to hit the ground to explode.
The BLU-82 is a conventional, but very large, iron bomb.
The FAE is a much smaller bomb that spreads aerosolized fuel (ether, propane, depends on who designed it) and a small charge to ignite the fuel that is suspended in the air.
/john
I find that hard to believe. Maybe he was just checking with the Chinese on what their preferences were. Or maybe he was taking orders in the sense of "takeout" rather than command--as in "I'd like a missle/satellite navigation, comrade." In any event, he might as well have been directly working for anyone but us, whether he did so consciously or not.
/john
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