Free Republic

Diplomacy is doing nothing to stop the Iranian nuclear threat; a show of force is the only answer. WE MUST bomb Iran. It has been four years since that country's secret nuclear program was brought to light, and the path of diplomacy and sanctions has led nowhere. First, we agreed to our allies' requests that we offer Tehran a string of concessions, which it spurned. Then, Britain, France and Germany wanted to impose a batch of extremely weak sanctions. For instance, Iranians known to be involved in nuclear activities would have been barred from foreign travel — except for humanitarian...

The TimesOctober 26, 2007 Now what would a huge US bomb be aimed at? Gerard Baker Nestled deep in George Bush’s latest $190 billion request to Congress for emergency funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is a tantalising little item that has received scant attention. The US Department of Defence has asked for an additional $88 million to modify B2 stealth bombers so that they can carry a 30,000lb bomb called the massive ordnance penetrator (or MOP, in the disarming acronymic vernacular of the military). The MOP is an advanced form of a “bunker buster”, an air-delivered weapon...

Russian army 'tests the father of all bombs' By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow Last Updated: 2:26am BST 12/09/2007 Russia has delivered a belligerent message of defiance to the West after army generals claimed to have tested "the father of all bombs". Developed in secret, the unchristened bomb, a vacuum device capable of emitting shockwaves as powerful as a nuclear weapon, was unveiled with great theatre on state television's main evening broadcast. A mushroom cloud rises over a plain as Russia’s military test their latest weapon Boasting that the weapon had "no match in the world," ORT First Channel television showed...

MOSCOW — The Russian military has successfully tested what it described as the world's most powerful non-nuclear air-delivered bomb, Russia's state television reported Tuesday. Channel One television said the new ordnance, nicknamed the "dad of all bombs" is four times more powerful than the U.S. "mother of all bombs." "The tests have shown that the new air-delivered ordnance is comparable to a nuclear weapon in its efficiency and capability," Alexander Rukhsin, a deputy chief of the Russian military's General Staff, said in televised remarks. The statement comes amid the Kremlin's efforts to restore Russia's global clout and rebuild the nation's...

According to Brian Ross and ABC news, NATO officials claim "they have caught Iran red-handed, shipping heavy arms, C4 explosives and advanced roadside bombs to the Taliban for use against NATO forces in what the officials say is a dramatic escalation of Iran's proxy war against the United States and Great Britain." I suspect it is only a matter of time before the ever-predictable American media will suggest NATO is lying to get us into a war with Iran. While daily evidence builds of Iran's support of terrorism, the world sits idly by and does nothing. Not even a harsh...

TONY EASTLEY: Reports of a possible re-unification of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, have been played down by the senior international body co-ordinating relations between the two. A newspaper in London claimed senior Bishops on both sides are considering repairing the split that occurred at the time of Reformation. But a South African Anglican Bishop, who co-chairs the special bi-lateral body reportedly behind the move, has told AM any possible merger is a long way off. Europe Correspondent Rafael Epstein. RAFAEL EPSTEIN: There's been an official dialogue for 40 years, and in 2000 the then Pope John Paul the...

The exploit could be used by attackers to compromise, hijack, or infect computers running either Windows or Mac OS X. The Month of Apple Bugs project kicked off Monday by posting a zero-day vulnerability in Apple's QuickTime media player. It also posted an exploit that could be used by attackers to compromise, hijack, or infect computers running either Windows or Mac OS X. The Month of Apple Bugs (MoAB), which will announce a new security vulnerability in Apple's operating system or other Mac OS X software each day in January, is a follow-on to November's "Month of Kernel Bugs"...

This is a picture of the US Air Force's new 21,000 pound MOAB --- the "Mother Of All Bombs". It is an upgrade of the 15,000 pound "Daisy cutter" which was used in Afghanistan . The USAF coalition forces are planning to drop the MOAB on Tehran , Iran . . . . . . Talk about shock and awe!!! Frightening!!!!

Shiites march in Baghdad for pro-Hezbollah rally The Associated Press Published: August 4, 2006 BAGHDAD, Iraq Hundreds of thousands of Shiites chanting "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" marched through the streets of Baghdad's biggest Shiite district Friday in a massive show of support for Hezbollah in its battle against Israel. The demonstration was the biggest in the Middle East in support of Hezbollah since Israel launched its attacks against the guerrillas in Lebanon on July 12. The protest was organized by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose political movement built around the Mahdi Army militia has been modeled...

IAF fighter jets dropped over 20 tons in bombs late Wednesday night on a Hizbullah bunker, possibly the hiding place of the group's leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, in the Bourj al-Barajneh refugee camp in southeast Beirut. It was still unclear who was in the bunker at the time and what their fate was, but IDF sources said the bunker was totally destroyed and that all that was left was a crater. The IDF obtained intelligence information late Wednesday night that Hizbullah leaders possibly including Nasrallah had taken refuge inside the bunker. A wave of aircraft immediately took to the air...

Just saw on CNN that 23 tons of explosives were dropped on a Hezbollah bunker. Top Hezbollah officials are believed to have been inside. No story on the website yet.

The Power of Fear The sensor fuzed weapon is a smart bomb that splits into dozens of tiny but lethal airborne tank busters, capable of reducing a tank column to mere shrapnel. And if it's fear that's required, reach for the MOAB. Short for Massive Ordnance Air Blast, the MOAB has never been dropped in action. Yet its very presence makes the enemy quake. Weighing in at 20 tons, it's the biggest conventional bomb ever made, and it's capable of taking out underground concrete command and c ontrol centers — or two whole city blocks. Premieres Wednesday, May 24, at...

KABUL, Afghanistan - Terror convicts and hundreds of other inmates clashed with guards and took control of parts of a high-security prison in Afghanistan's capital, officials said Sunday. Police and soldiers surrounded the Policharki Prison on Sunday as government officials attempted to negotiate with the inmates, who include al-Qaida and Taliban militants. An Associated Press reporter heard two bursts of gunfire about two hours apart from inside the prison Sunday. A few minutes after the first gunfire, an ambulance carrying an unidentified patient drove out of the prison. The trouble began Saturday night when prisoners forced guards out of a...

Dec 25, 10:13 PM EST 'Mother of All Bombs' Designer Dies at 67 By DENISE KALETTE Associated Press Writer MIAMI (AP) -- Albert L. Weimorts Jr., a civilian engineer for the Air Force whose designs included a satellite-guided weapon known as the "mother of all bombs," has died, his son said. He was 67. Weimorts died Wednesday of brain cancer at home in Fort Walton Beach, his son Todd said Sunday. The Air Force Research Laboratory honored Weimorts after he retired in 2003 for his role in developing two powerful bombs as chief engineer for the lab's Munitions Directorate at...

Many argue that communism will never be possible because of "human nature". The essence of this false argument is the belief that a communist society would consist of an all-powerful central government that would tell everybody what to do--and would therefore undermine the creative initiative of individuals and the search for happiness. • This argument is based on two false assumptions: (1) It assumes that a communist society will look like the former Soviet Union, or the current China, North Korea, etc (ie: corrupt police states with a feudal-style ruling class) (2) It assumes that people will only work in...

Here is the list so far for sponcers to this hate America fest: ANSWER Code Pink UFPJ NION Al Awda World Workers Party Ruckas Revolutionary Communist party Moveon.org ACORN Campus Antiwar Network International Socialist Org Greens Party Muslim Student Association CPUSA

A 10-million-ton pile of radioactive waste that has been polluting the Colorado River for decades will be moved under a plan announced yesterday by the U.S. Department of Energy. The decision comes after years of heated and emotional debate over what to do with the pile, which sits 750 feet from the river near the tourist town of Moab, Utah. The decision is being hailed as an environmental victory that will safeguard the drinking water of more than 25 million people, including most San Diego County residents. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman notified the department's Office of Environmental Management of his...

<p>The sign that got Code Pinko leaders Medea Benjamin and Gael Murphy so upset that day.</p> <p>Bush says Code Red, we say... (crowd) Code Pink!</p> <p>So I wanna address that sign over there, and those people who have been standing there for hours with a sign that says “Code Pink kills American troops, giving money to terrorists.”</p>

[UPDATED FROM AN EARLIER POST. LEFTISTS ARE TIMING THESE TO THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE START OF OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM. ALL EVENTS ARE ON SATURDAY, MARCH 19 EXCEPT WHERE NOTED. I've reformatted, left out some irrelevant info, and added emphasis. I will post rally info from another leftist group below on this thread. Check relevant leftist websites in case their plans change.] ALABAMA Huntsville North Alabama Peace Network EVENT: Gather at Flying Monkey Arts Center for a art show / benefit concert for the Victims of the War in Iraq.  Art show, 3 - 7pm; Benefit concert 7-10pm; Rally, downtown...

From the heavyweight Southern California Water Authority to the scrappy little County Council in Moab, Utah, a determined chorus is rising to urge the U.S. Department of Energy to move a 10-million-ton pile of radioactive waste away from the banks of the Colorado River. "This water supply and the health of millions of people are too important to leave to chance," a letter from the San Diego County Water Authority urges the Energy Department. "Moving the pile would lessen these risks significantly." Three of the four largest water agencies in the region have insisted that the waste pile be moved...

Eglin Studying Massive 30,000-Pound Bomb Bomb Would Be 40 Percent Bigger Than MOAB EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The Air Force built a weapon so big it was nicknamed "Mother of All Bombs" on the eve of the war with Iraq, but MOAB would be dwarfed by a much larger munition now under study. The proposed Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, would weigh 30,000 pounds, nearly 40 percent more than the 21,000 pound MOAB -- officially Massive Ordnance Air Blast -- that never saw combat. "The reason it's heavier than MOAB is that it has to penetrate a target,"...

Dear ..., Thank you for taking the time to write to me, and I agree that often, business and politics do not mix. However, in this particular case, my decision to support John Kerry is a business decision. The bottom line is that Western Spirit needs undeveloped public land to run our trips. The Bush administration is currently pushing for oil and gas development on our public lands at an unprecedented rate. While I agree with the need for us to be less dependent on foreign oil, there is not enough oil in the US to meet our longterm needs---even...

I have received many requests for directions on how to build a MOAB (aka: "Mother Of All Banners"), so I decided to write this article.Before I get into the construction instructions, a brief history: As the name suggests, a MOAB is big, bold and packs a mighty powerful punch. Best of all, they are easy and affordable to make. The first MOABs were used in Washington, DC, on October 25, 2003 at a Support the Troops rally at the US Capitol, and again that same day on a hill in Pershing Park at a counterprotest of a communist-sponsored "anti-war" march....

Russia Announces Iran's Bushehr Reactor is 90 Percent Finished Russia has completed more than 90 percent of the Bushehr power reactor in Iran.Russian officials said Moscow has accelerated work on the Bushehr power reactor.They said 1,500 Russian nationals and personnel from the former Soviet Union were sent to Iran to complete the $1 billion nuclear project.Full text_subscribers

We hear highly placed officials and political appointees make pronouncements that "America should do everything" in its power to protect itself from terrorists but we have already decided that we are unwilling to do the only thing that would have clear effectiveness in protecting us from terrorists. The effectiveness of protective measures descends as: Removing the wheat ( terrorists ) and the chaff ( innocent members of the group the terrorists belong to ). Perhaps 75-90% of Americans would reject this "you can't sort them with 100% assuredness so evict them all" option. I'd would currently reject this myself which...

WASHINGTON, July 16 (Reuters) - The United States plans to develop an experimental 30,000-pound (13,600 kg) bomb, the biggest in its inventory, aimed at destroying deeply buried targets beyond the reach of existing bombs, the Air Force said on Friday. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, would be about one-third heavier than the 21,000-pound Massive Ordnance Air Blast, MOAB, dropped twice last year in "live" tests at a range in Florida. The Air Force's Air Armaments Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, said it planned to award a contract for the "technology demonstration" work as early as mid-September, based...

<p>Beirut, Lebanon, Jun. 15 (UPI) -- Iran reportedly is readying troops to move into Iraq if U.S. troops pull out, leaving a security vacuum.</p> <p>The Saudi daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat, monitored in Beirut, reports Iran has massed four battalions at the border.</p>

A massive weapon nicknamed Mother of All Bombs has become a museum piece, 15 months after it was tested to great fanfare as the war with Iraq loomed. The military created 14 MOABs - officially an acronym for Massive Ordnance Air Blast - but none was used in the war. There are no current plans to make more of the 21,000-pound (9,450-kg) bombs, the largest guided air-delivered munition in history, said Lt Col Mark Hunter, who led the team that designed, tested, built and delivered the bomb in only 14 weeks. Hunter said the bomb played a psychological role in...

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AP) - The Air Force conducted a second test Friday of the "Mother of All Bombs," officially the Massive Ordnance Air Blast. The blast occurred early Friday afternoon, Eglin spokesman Jake Swenson said. Air Force officials said the weapon detonated as planned, hit its target area and released a mushroom cloud of smoke that rose more than 10,000 feet in the air. The 21,700-pound bomb, which contains 18,700 pounds of explosives, was first tested March 11, eight days before the United States invaded Iraq. The spring blast shook windows miles away, although some people in...

US Detonates 'Mother of All Bombs' in Florida Test Nov 21, 3:42 PM (ET) By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Air Force cargo plane dropped the most powerful conventional bomb in the U.S. arsenal onto a Florida test range on Friday, producing a fiery blast and huge cloud in the last developmental step for a nearly 11-tonbehemoth dubbed the "mother of all bombs." An MC-130 Combat Talon dropped the 21,700-pound satellite-guided GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, or MOAB, onto a test range at Eglin Air Force Base in northwestern Florida, said Jake Swinson, a spokesman for the Air...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military plans this week to conduct its final developmental test on the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal, a weapon so big it is dubbed the "mother of all bombs," the Air Force said on Tuesday. The Air Force plans to detonate a 21,700-pound satellite-guided GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, or MOAB, on Thursday at Eglin Air Force Base in the panhandle of northwestern Florida, said Jake Swinson, a spokesman for the Air Armament Center at the base. The huge conventional bomb will be dropped from an MC-130 Combat Talon cargo plane onto...

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE — People in the western Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama may hear a loud boom and see a column of smoke Tuesday from another test of the “Mother of All Bombs,” Air Force officials said Friday. The second test of MOAB, officially the Massive Ordnance Air Blast but nicknamed otherwise, is planned between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. CST, if the weather cooperates Rain is in the forecast for early next week and that may postpone the test, probably until the next clear day, said Eglin spokesman Jake Swinson. MOAB, which weighs 21,000 pounds, including 18,000...

United States Special forces and aircraft are engaged in a massive offensive in Southeast Afghanistan in a bid to kill or capture senior Taliban leaders.Aljazeera's Afghanistan correspondant said a United States offficer was 100% sure that Taliban leaders Mullah Omar and Mullah Qahar were both surrounded in the villiage of Sarang with about 1000 Taliban fighters.The special forces have joined a major week long operation against suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda bases in the mountains of Daychopan district of Zabul province, 300 kilometeres Southwest of Kabul. Aljazeera.net has learned that the Afghan Government infantry was order to withdraw in anticipation...

Title: "North Korea`s Fear of US Military Capability Conducive to Peaceful Resolution" Dong-A Ilbo Daily Newspaper(Seoul) MAY 16, 2003 21:38 Korean Time (S. Korean) President Roh Moo-hyun May 16 said that, in the wake of the Iraq war, the North Korean leadership is increasingly concerned over the military capacity of the US, and which he think might be conducive to achieving a peaceful resolution of the US-North Korean nuclear standoff. The President made the remark in an interview with the US PBS broadcasting network when host of the TV program Jim Lehrer asked him the question of whether the increased...

Operation Iraqi Freedom This Thread is dedicated to the Countries of the Coalition Afghanistan. Albania, Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland , Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Spain, Tonga, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan We know who our friends are. They stood with us. Links to the older threads  Day 1 ... 4557 posts Day 2 ... 5704 posts Day 3...

US 'threatens' to drop massive bomb on Tikrit April 11 2003 at 10:13AM By Donald Macintyre The United States has stepped up the military and psychological pressure on Tikrit as the hunt for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his top aides began to focus on northern and western Iraq. In what looked like a calculated propaganda move as US-led forces continued to bomb Tikrit, the Pentagon issued a thinly veiled threat to deploy - for the first time in the war - its biggest non-nuclear bomb. The threat to use the 9 526kg bomb came amid speculation by US commanders...

US threatens to use biggest bomb as hunt switches north By Donald Macintyre at US Central Command Qatar 11 April 2003 The United States stepped up the military and psychological pressure on the Baathist stronghold of Tikrit yesterday as the hunt for Saddam Hussein and leading members of his regime began to focus on areas to the north and west of Baghdad. In what looked to be a calculated propaganda move, the Pentagon issued a thinly disguised threat to deploy – for the first time in the war – the biggest non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal, the 21,000lb massive ordnance...

WASHINGTON - The bull's-eye is now painted large on the city of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, which could be the site of the last big battle in the Iraq war. At first glance, the city of 260,000 inhabitants sprawled along the bank of the Tigris River 110 miles northwest of Baghdad doesn't appear to be ideal for hard-line holdouts to make their last stand. But U.S. intelligence officials said some of Saddam's senior Baath Party officials, remnants of his Republican Guard and other diehards had fled there. U.S. Central Command representatives said Thursday there was evidence that Republican Guard...

THE ground battle for the last stronghold of Saddam Hussein’s regime could start as early as Monday. The first elements of the US 4th Infantry Division, including 44 of the latest Abrams M1A2 tanks and 18 Paladin howitzers, will shortly be in attack position outside Tikrit, 112 miles north of Baghdad.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Air Force is moving several 21,000-pound MOAB bombs, the largest US conventional bomb, to the Gulf region, a US defense official said. It was not clear what the air force intends to do with the bombs, which are most effective against troops or tanks in open areas. "What we were told today is that they are on the way," said the defense official, who asked not to be identified. He said several were being shipped to the Gulf region. MOAB stands for Massive Ordnance Air Blast, but it is known informally as the "mother of...

Assault on Saddam's town By Hugh Dougherty at Central Command, Qatar, and Hugh Muir in London 10 April 2003 American military chiefs are preparing a massive assault on Saddam Hussein's stronghold in Tikrit - expected to be the last major battle of the war. Following the fall of Baghdad, Central Command today revealed it is ready to end the hostilities by flattening Tikrit with its most fearsome weapon, known as MOAB, the "mother of all bombs". The 21,000lb bomb is the biggest nonnuclear weapon in the world. But military chiefs are also trying to assess the effect that using such...

Bret Baire (?) at the Pentagon just reported on FoxNews that the MOAB has been delivered to Iraq...just in case it's needed. ;-)

Just heard on FOX. The MOAB is in IRAQ and ready to be dropped on dug in Iraqi troops.

Just Breaking (no link)

Corinna (ME) firm makes 'mother of all' T-shirts BANGOR - Berg Sportswear of Corinna has been called up for duty.The shirt and hat silkscreener is delivering the "mother of all" T-shirts after being encouraged by nationally syndicated radio talk-show host Howie Carr to produce them. "The Captain," as Carr's listeners call him, wanted a visual sign to promote patriotism and America's military muscle, said sportswear co-owner Robert Berg. What better way, according to Carr, than to have "the Mother of All Bombs," the mightiest of precision-guided, non-nuclear munitions in the U.S. arsenal, prominently displayed on a T-shirt that could be...

About five years ago I crossed paths, sort of, with famed journalist Peter Arnett. A few friends and I stopped to have an after-dinner drink at an almost-empty bar on Manhattan's East Side. He was alone and clearly wanted to be noticed. We ignored him. Today Arnett is getting the attention he deserves--just not the kind he wanted. That Peter Arnett would give a kissy-kissy interview with Iraq Television is no big surprise to most conservatives. Neither is the specific fact that he would describe the war plan as a "failure" to the enemy of the US. Arnett, like the...

"Human Shields Flee Baghdad" Tuesday 1 April 2003, 8:05 AM Australian human shield Donna Mulhearn has fled Baghdad for Amman before what is expected to be a bloody battle for the capital. The 34-year-old said she and five other people arrived in Jordan on Sunday night, after paying a driver the equivalent of $A1,250 to drive them out of Iraq. She said the trip would normally cost less than $A16.71 on a bus. Ms Mulhearn said she met Australian SAS soldiers about 200km west of Baghdad at a roadblock, describing them as professional. "I was actually quite relieved when I...

Breaking now!

<p>March 29, 2003 -- U.S. warplanes continued their assault on the Iraqi leadership yesterday, blowing away the Baghdad headquarters of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party with Tomahawk missiles.</p> <p>The precision strike took place shortly after the United States unleashed two monster 4,700-pound bunker-buster bombs on a communications site inside the Iraqi capital.</p>

It's the Big OneBy David A. Fulghum The U.S. Air Force has tested its new 10-ton Massive Ordnance Air Blast Weapon to much fanfare, but the service purposefully left the impression that it was a bomb to be dropped only from cargo aircraft for special operations missions. In fact, the 21,500-lb, all-weather, precision-guided bomb, called MOAB or sometimes the "mother of all bombs," has been sized for carriage by the B-2 stealth bomber and is equipped with stubby wings at mid-body and four large lattice fins as part of its tail kit. The fin design was first used extensively by...