When U.S. President Donald Trump ordered on Thursday the military to drop the Massive Ordnance Air Blast, he had two objectives. The first was to reduce the risk to Afghan and American forces conducting clearing operations in the Achin area. The second was to send a message to North Korea.
Trump said he hoped dropping “the mother of all bombs” would deter Pyongyang’s belligerence. “I don’t know if it sends a message, it doesn’t make any difference if it does or not. North Korea’s a problem. The problem will be taken care of,” New York Post quoted the president.
Mother of all bombs
The MOAB, or GBU-43B, was developed in the early 2000s and could unleash 11 tons of explosives. Besides minimizing the risk to Afghan and U.S. forces, the bomb also intended to maximize the destruction of ISIS fighters and facilities.
The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Nicholson, said the GBU-43B is the right munition to reduce the obstacles and maintain the momentum of its offensive against the terrorist group. The obstacles he referred to are the improvised explosive devices, bunkers, and tunnels ISIS uses to boost its defenses.
Killing Kim Jong-un
If dropping the MOAB on Afghanistan on a tunnel complex in Achin District, Nangarhar Province would not scare Kim Jong-un, the U.S.
appears to have a Plan B to deal with the North Korean dictator. According to Breitbart, Seal Team 6, the same U.S. Navy Seal squad which killed Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, is in South Korea.
The team is taking part in the Foal Eagle, and Key Resolve exercise in the region. Seal Team 6 is allegedly training to assassinate the “crazy fat kid.” But Gary Ross, U.S.
Navy Commander, denied the story by JoongAng Daily, a South Korean newspaper, that the Seal Team 6 is simulating drills to assassinate Kim Jong-un.
He clarified that Foal Eagle is a regularly schedule yearly military exercise and not held in response to the current situation in the Korean peninsula. However, a New York Post report said that the National Security Council had presented to Trump assassinating the North Korean leader as one of the president’s options.
6th nuclear test
Kim Jong-un has not reacted yet to the Afghanistan bombing and Trump’s statement that he hopes the MOAB would deter North Korea’s belligerence. On Thursday, he inaugurated the Ryomyong residential area in the capital city which North Korean Prime Minister Pak Pong Ju described its completion as important as if the communist nation had “dropped a hundred nuclear bombs.” The remark came amid speculations that the country is ready to test conduct its sixth nuclear test which Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned could contain sarin nerve gas.
The dictator had warned Trump he could launch a nuclear attack on the U.S. In case Kim Jong-un carries out the threat, the U.S. has positioned two destroyers near North Korea.
The destroyers are capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles. The Carl Vinson strike group has also been diverted to the region while the U.S. also has heavy bombers ready to launch an attack from Guam.
