U.S. Drops Thermobaric Bomb on Afghan Caves

FOX News Alert ^ | March 2, 2002 | Diane Diamond

[codebreaker]

Developing..new weapon system has been used

[Principled]

Now, if Bin Laden or Omar is in this cave, how in the heck are we ever going to prove in lil Tommy Dashole

He will never admit to the death of either. Even if we capture them, bring them back, and place them on Dashole's doorstep, he'll deny it could be true, say it's a hoax, etc. Now that he's pinned his future on them NOT being caught/killed, he'll never accept any truth that contradicts his little (and I do mean "little") imagination.

[reagan_fanatic]

"Has someone alerted the European media so that they can start the bitching?"

LOL!!

[Jhoffa_]

"dropped the bomb on me.. baby.. "

"wshewwwwwwwwwwww.."

[lentulusgracchus]

If so it sounds like our guys were just herding the enemy into a nice little target area.

What was Martin Sheen's line in Apocalypse Now? "Almighty, Almighty.......I say 'arclight, arclight'...."

[ThreePantherEightyDuce]

[El Gato]

increased lethality in confined spaces

I like the sound of that! Warms the cockles of my heart, which have needed considerable warming since 9-11. Still need more though.

[thathamiltonwoman]

So it's a fuel air bomb?

[El Gato]

Custer was a p***y, you ain't

Nothing all that profound in that statement. Custer was a p***y. Also a chaser of same, when his wife wasn't around.

[Paraclete]

FOX News-Molly Henneburg at the Pentagon 2,000 lb. fuel to air explosive, sucks oxygen out of the caves..droppped last night about 9PM

I wondered why all my toilets flushed about then.

[El Gato]

how about BOUNTIES???

IIRC the bounty on some of 'em is a couple of mil. Dead or alive and the sherrif said he really doesn't care which. Myself, I prefer dead.

[cajungirl]

It is not very feminine and I know as a girl I am not supposed to feel this way but I JUST LOVE BIG OLE BOMBS!

[my trusty sig]

Thermobaric. I usually don't go in for poetry....but that's a haiku that has a certain attitude adjusting ring to it.

And I hope the effect they feel is "Thermo-barbaric"!!

[Wild Irish Rogue]

Neither Daschle, nor Kerry nor Edwards or Lieberman or any other testosterone challenged Democrat would have had the pair to drop this. It takes a man of courage and leadership to give the order.

[Spruce]

These Taliban morons have obviously never studied American history.
"We will make bunkers and hide in caves!" they expound.
Sheesh! What a bunch of idiots!
Americans have been smokin' better soldiers out of better holes since our inception. And We just get better at it every day.

Smoke 'em if ya got 'em

[Lancey Howard]

It's the same old time-proven strategy:
Where is the best place to hide?
Answer: Someplace that's already been checked, ie., a cave that's already been bombed.

Or so the Afghan terrorist suppoters thought.

[jslade]

What was Martin Sheen's line in Apocalypse Now? "Almighty, Almighty.......I say 'arclight, arclight'...."

As a former Radar Navigator on B-52's during Nam, I know what you mean!

[waspguy]

So it's a fuel air bomb?

A BIG one - that apparently can be "rolled" down the tunnel before it explodes deep inside.

[lawdog]

Post Toasties, one of my all time favorites! Can you still get 'em ?

[lentulusgracchus]

They either fly it into the cave mouth and up the tunnel, as a steerable glide bomb, or they attach a rocket motor for better standoff range, and to drive it further up-tunnel. In Afghanistan, since they aren't up against an air-defense sysem, they don't need the rocket motors. See the links posted above, to the various models available.

Further links will lead you to the Anglo-American joint project on similar explosives that might even be nastier, and deliverable by longer-range ALCM's and JDAM standoff weapons as well. I also saw a discussion of the "insensitive" explosives used, which are ideal for tunnel-busting because they're slower-burning but deliver an awesome, very-high-temp, long-wavelength explosion that just spreads out everywhere and is ideal for use in confined spaces (e.g. in the interior of an enemy ship -- hence the Navy's acute interest and involvement).

[Ciexyz]

"Maximum functional kill." -- I like the sound of that.