The Naming Of Weapons
The nuclear planners named the first nuclear bombs to be dropped on an enemy Little Boy and Fat Man. Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on the morning of August 6, 1945, with a force equal to 13,000 tons of TNT. Immediate deaths were reported to be between 70,000 to 130,000. Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, causing approximately 45,000 immediate deaths. For good or evil, those bombs ended the war with Japan.
Now the first and only nation to use this weaponry is considering their use again, this time as a pre-emptive strike against a nation with whom we are not (yet) at war. Anwaar Hussain is a former Pakistan Air Force F-16 fighter pilot who has written many articles on the Middle East situation, especially as it pertains to the US use of force in the region. His latest is found in the Pakistani Pak Tribune. His assessment is chilling and extensive. I am here only citing a small portion of his essay.
As has recently been reported in the international press, yet again the incumbent President of the United States is planning a massive bombing campaign against a sovereign country. This time that country is Iran, and the plan, which is almost sure to move forward, is to use bunker-busting nuclear bombs to destroy key Iranian nuclear weapons facilities. Given the tenor of the present U.S.-Iran stand-off, it seems highly likely that America will use nuclear weapons in the upcoming conflict.
...These new kids on the block are called Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrators, or Low Yield Bunker Busters. They are modified versions of high-yield nuclear weapons, and are designed to penetrate the earth before detonating, with the purpose of destroying underground bunkers. It is a common knowledge that most of Iran's nuclear facilities are buried in deep, well-dug bunkers, so short of nuclear weapons, a considerable number of these facilities simply cannot be eliminated in any other fashion.
... As an occupation of Iran for the purpose of neutralizing its nuclear facilities with ground forces is not an option, the tactic of choice, therefore, is none other than the use of Low Yield Bunker Busters. [Emphasis added]
Mr. Hussain then proceeds to point out the major flaws in the use of this new weaponry (which he assumes the US has at its disposal):
First of all, in the 19 or so alleged Iranian nuclear facilities that are dispersed throughout Iran, it is very difficult to find a single vital choke point to attack, which would stop or stall Iran's nuclear program for a long period.
Secondly, not only would the use of low-yield warheads make these a cherished weapon resulting in an arms races amongst a number of potential adversaries, such an act would simply make their eventual use even more likely.
Third, no earth-burrowing missile can penetrate deep enough into the earth to contain an explosion with a nuclear yield of even a fraction of the 15 kt Hiroshima weapon. There will still be massive civilian casualties.
Last but not least, the use of nuclear weapons, however low in yield, would amount to a lessening of the nuclear threshold. [Emphasis added]
Mr. Hussain's brief list of the "blowback" potentials should make sane people shocked and disgusted enough to take that option off the table when dealing with a problem such as the one the current regime has with Iran. Yet this administration has made it clear that it has no intention of doing so.
What, in their madness, will they name the new weapons?
Now the first and only nation to use this weaponry is considering their use again, this time as a pre-emptive strike against a nation with whom we are not (yet) at war. Anwaar Hussain is a former Pakistan Air Force F-16 fighter pilot who has written many articles on the Middle East situation, especially as it pertains to the US use of force in the region. His latest is found in the Pakistani Pak Tribune. His assessment is chilling and extensive. I am here only citing a small portion of his essay.
As has recently been reported in the international press, yet again the incumbent President of the United States is planning a massive bombing campaign against a sovereign country. This time that country is Iran, and the plan, which is almost sure to move forward, is to use bunker-busting nuclear bombs to destroy key Iranian nuclear weapons facilities. Given the tenor of the present U.S.-Iran stand-off, it seems highly likely that America will use nuclear weapons in the upcoming conflict.
...These new kids on the block are called Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrators, or Low Yield Bunker Busters. They are modified versions of high-yield nuclear weapons, and are designed to penetrate the earth before detonating, with the purpose of destroying underground bunkers. It is a common knowledge that most of Iran's nuclear facilities are buried in deep, well-dug bunkers, so short of nuclear weapons, a considerable number of these facilities simply cannot be eliminated in any other fashion.
... As an occupation of Iran for the purpose of neutralizing its nuclear facilities with ground forces is not an option, the tactic of choice, therefore, is none other than the use of Low Yield Bunker Busters. [Emphasis added]
Mr. Hussain then proceeds to point out the major flaws in the use of this new weaponry (which he assumes the US has at its disposal):
First of all, in the 19 or so alleged Iranian nuclear facilities that are dispersed throughout Iran, it is very difficult to find a single vital choke point to attack, which would stop or stall Iran's nuclear program for a long period.
Secondly, not only would the use of low-yield warheads make these a cherished weapon resulting in an arms races amongst a number of potential adversaries, such an act would simply make their eventual use even more likely.
Third, no earth-burrowing missile can penetrate deep enough into the earth to contain an explosion with a nuclear yield of even a fraction of the 15 kt Hiroshima weapon. There will still be massive civilian casualties.
Last but not least, the use of nuclear weapons, however low in yield, would amount to a lessening of the nuclear threshold. [Emphasis added]
Mr. Hussain's brief list of the "blowback" potentials should make sane people shocked and disgusted enough to take that option off the table when dealing with a problem such as the one the current regime has with Iran. Yet this administration has made it clear that it has no intention of doing so.
What, in their madness, will they name the new weapons?
posted by Diane at 8:41 AM
1 Comments:
Forget the weapon, focus on the campaign title:
"Operation Just Because"
or
"Operation Armageddon: Apocalypse Now"
or
"Operation If We Don't Do It To Them, They Might Do It To Us"
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