Your Opinions

Questions remain after bombing

In the beginning, the “Mother of all Bombs” was Bush’s. It was designed under his watch in 2003. Officially known as the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, it is the most powerful weapon in the American arsenal that can be used without violating an international war crime. On Holy Thursday of the Christian calendar, it was detonated in a remote area of the Afghanistan hinterland to cripple ISIS supply lines. At the time, reports could not confirm if the White house had any role in the decision.

I didn’t buy that. There is no way Trump was not briefed about this. If he was not briefed, that would mean that he has no real authority over the military. If he was briefed, that would mean that he either agreed to use the weapon or he tacitly accepted it. All attempts by the White House to defer to the Department of Defense were both cowardly and futile.

And there are questions that must be asked and answered. What about the atmosphere which was poisoned? What about the crops which were contaminated? What about the trauma inflicted on the land and air? What about the suffering inflicted upon the animals? This region is home to endangered bears, exotic wildcats, and several rare bird birds. What about them? Do they not count? Are their lives irrelevant?

This was the first time that a bomb of this caliber has been used in combat. Don’t be hoodwinked. It killed a lot of people. Some of them were ISIS. Some were Taliban. Some were farmers. Some were infants. Let’s not be naive. Civilians were pulverized.

The truth is the bomb was dropped because the president wanted to see what it could do. He wanted to fulfill another campaign promise and kick ISIS in the ass. It was done to show North Korea and Russia what American supremacy looks like. It was a saber rattling blow that was aimed at every conceivable American enemy under the sun. To suggest that this was ordered without Trump’s knowledge is farcical.