This week the #United States of America dropped one of its most powerful bombs ever on an #Islamic State-held enclave in #Afghanistan – and it was a decidedly strategic move. The Mother Of All Bombs, the moniker for the particular massive ordinance air blast, was employed at a crucial time for the Trump administration. The explosion, that killed many, happened at a time of mounting international tensions for the US – or perhaps it can be seen as a time of mounting US ascendancy.
Trump's administration have multiple military scenarios on the go, from simmering tensions in #North Korea that could spill over into a Cuban Missile Crisis-style stand off, as well as the recent bombing of Syrian chemical weapon depositaries and storage facilities in the war-torn country.
These ever complex and entwined military moves and tensions have set off other allegiances and apprehensions all around the world. From #Russia's fury over the US bombing of Syria, to the South Koreans – who now fear that the country is going to be used as a pawn in a new and frightening war – on Friday the world found itself a changed place with a new blackboard of conflicts and worries.
The United States bomb drop tips the balance of power
It was the United States releasing the #Mother Of All Bombs on Wednesday – a huge piece of machinery that weighs 22000 pounds – that set in force a new US agenda and message to countries such as Syria, Iran and North Korea. To these countries the deployment of the bomb may indicate deterrence from engagement in US conflicts.
For those living in America, the ordinance highlighted the Trump administration's more aggressive stance and attitude to world conflicts, especially when compared to the Obama-era and its measured administration's decision not to rely on weapons to debate with adversaries.
Whilst many militants died in the explosion, the #United States military officials said that it was necessary to carry out such actions in order to destroy an Islamic State stronghold where a complex of tunnels and pathways hid fighting multiple positions and strongholds for the rebel army.
The officials emphasized that it was in a remote area of eastern Afghanistan and that there was minimal risk to the local civilian population. The bombing also meant that #US troops were not needed to fight in difficult and treacherous hand-to-hand combat within the maze of tunnels where there would have certainly been US fatalities.
A new phase
The attack signals a new phase and approach in international #conflict strategy for the #United States beneath the Trump administration sparing military commanders from repressive Obama-era restrictions. The US's highest commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, was keen to highlight the many threats and dangers that loom within Afghanistan, and he has asked for an extra 8500 troops to be based in the war torn country.
The weapons itself, technically called a GBU-43/B Massive Ordinance Air Blast can obliterate and destroy anything within a radius of 1000 yards, meaning it is a treacherous and hazardous weapon of choice for the #Trump administration to use. The bomb carries within it 19,000 pounds of an explosive and dangerous substance called #Composition H6 that is stronger than an equal weight of TNT by about 30 percent.
Because of the strength and coverage of the #Massive Ordinance Air Blast, it poses a grave and serious danger to people nearby. And since many Afghani civilians are engaged in everyday work and activities that involve food sourcing, farming, wood cutting and the herding of various animals, the blast would have most certainly have posed a risk to these people. It's because of this complicated and nefarious dynamic that the #Obama administration refrained from using the mega bomb
