Dems Say "Bunker Buster" Could Be Sign of Planned Attack on Iran

I know, I know. You don't want to read another Cassandra diatribe about the danger of a Bush Administration attack on Iran. But this warning is coming to you from Members of Congress looking at the President's budget request. As such, it should be taken seriously.

John Donnelly reports in CQ Today:

Some Democrats are worried that President Bush's funding request to enable B-2 "stealth" bombers to carry a new 30,000-pound "bunker buster" bomb is a sign of plans for an attack on Iran. Buried in the $196.4 billion supplemental war spending proposal that Bush submitted to Congress on Oct. 22 is a request for $88 million to modify B-2 bombers so they can drop a Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, a conventional bomb still in development that is the most powerful weapon designed to destroy targets deep underground.

OK, so instead of spending money on things Americans need, the President wants to shovel even more of our tax dollars to the weapons of mass destruction industry. No news here, right? But

In interviews Tuesday, military experts said the new weapon was not designed for the kind of counterinsurgency campaign being conducted by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They said the MOP could prove useful against other targets, notably underground Iranian facilities that are said to be producing nuclear weapons materials. "A weapon like this is designed to deal with extremely hard and buried targets such as you would find in Iran or North Korea," said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the conservative military think tank the Lexington Institute, who is also a consultant for some defense contractors. "Clearly, in the case of North Korea, the likelihood of military action is receding as the Pyongyang government becomes more tractable," said Thompson.

John Pike, an expert on defense and intelligence policy with Globalsecurity.org, said the MOP could be used against Iran's main uranium enrichment facility at ­Natanz. "It'll go through it like a hot knife through butter," Pike said. He noted that the B-2 would be the best aircraft to deliver the bomb "if you want it to be a surprise party."

Who is speaking out about this?

James P. Moran, D-Va., a senior member of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, said he did not believe the MOP could be used in Iraq or Afghanistan and cited Iran as the potential target for the bomb. He said he would oppose the funding. "That's a clear red flag," Moran said.

Jim McDermott, D-Wash....said the funding request was the latest of many signs that indicated Bush was contemplating an attack on Iran. McDermott said such a scenario was his "biggest fear between now and the election." "We are not authorizing Bush to use a 30,000-pound bunker buster," he said. "They've been banging the drums the same way as they did in 2002 with Iraq."

OK, you say, so anti-war Dems are on the case....

But the James Morans and the Jim McDermotts of Washington won't be able to stop this by themselves. If it were up to them, we'd be on our way out of Iraq. Where are Pelosi, Hoyer, Murtha on this? The CQ Today article doesn't say. It does tell us that "not all Democratic lawmakers oppose the weapon":

"We need to have this as a conventional weapon," said Norm Dicks, D-Wash., a member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. "It adds to our deterrent."

Ask Congress to prevent war with Iran.

Comments

[dadw5boys]

Is a 30,000 lb bomb considered a WMD?

HMMM

[Countess]

All the democrats that voted for the kyle-lieberman resolution on Iran are directly responsible for this naked aggression against Iran. Hillary Clinton and company are praying Uncle George W. bombs Iran so they don't have to. In their twisted logic Iran is a threat to Israel and must be bombed even though such action will compromise the security of the United States for years to come.

[Sundialsvc4]

I found something interesting today as I was doing some research on the French Revolution. (Ref: www.docstrangelove.com/tag/reign_of_terror)

"The French Revolution produced many horrors, but none more so than The Reign Of Terror when thousands were [sent to the guillotine] in the name of public safety. The Revolution that began with the slogan Liberté, égalité, fraternité quickly turned inward on itself. [...] Robespierre began to consolidate power to protect the Republic from enemies foreign and domestic."

"In unleashing the Reign of Terror, Robespierre believed he was [...] protecting the Republic from terrorists that sought to undermine it. The ends began to justify the means. Ultimately however, the Terror that he unleashed not only consumed the Revolution, but also Robespierre himself."

And the author concludes: "In the end, we are left with a touch of irony as the Administration that famously despises all things French is now crumbling under the burden of the Unitary Executive - a theory devised by the French philosopher Rousseau."

Right now, the world community is being asked to live with this, to have the consequences continue to be inflicted upon IT. Ultimately, the world community isn't going to allow that to happen, but just how much damage to ourselves will we permit from a government that is so hell-bent (literally) in pursuit of it?

[Observer1]

What a tragic joke America has become.

500,000 people evacuated from California because of fires and we are looking for a delivery system for a 30,000-lb bomb.

When we should be looking for a delivery system for fire retardant or water to prevent these fires from starting or spreading.

[mommadona]

EXCUSE ME?

They are PAID to REPRESENT US....THEY know what WE want, and THEY are the ones to do the job.

WE don't need to be told about THEIR problem.
The solution is IMPEACHMENT OF BOTH POTUS AND VPOTUS immediately. Both of them are mentally imbalanced and need to be replaced.

THEY have all the information and tools they need to DO THEIR JOB.

So, DO IT, already.

(You couldn't run a fastfood joint like this and keep it running.....)

[scooperss]

Beat me to it. I'm tired of them crying to us about how bush is doing something and they don't agree with him. We elected them to DO what we want and that isn't cry they can't dooooo anything.

(Wow. Didn't realize until I typed that how much democrats in office sound like little kids whining to mommy about the bid bad bully who's meeeeeaaaaaaan.)

[DrenchedOtter]

Exactly. That's only a budget request. Congress can line it out and voila, no money, no bomb. This is hardly news, the contractor has been actively promoting this weapon for years, but there's no military need for it, so it has gone nowhere. Congress ought to do their job and kill it without crowing as if they're doing anything special.

[Ben Dixon]

All during the cold war we built thousands of nuclear weapons that were most likely to be used against the Soviets. Just becuase we had them didn't mean we were automatically going to us them. You silly liberals are so cute when you cry wolf.

[JustAnotherJoe]

So what exactly happens to the local populace living downwind from the buried nuclear facility when the 30,000 lb bomb explodes. makes a gigantic hole in the ground and spews radioactive material from the formerly buried nuclear facility into the air? Oh, I forgot, they're the enemy, it doesn't matter what happens.

[Doofus]

Is this a great country or what?

[BLU means 'Bomb Live Unit', apparently.]

Previously, the biggest model was the BLU-82,
at 15000 pounds, dropped on Vietnam to 'create'
landing zones, from C-130 transport planes. The new
model is so big it would have required 2 planes, but it was
decideded that this was impractical.

----------------

Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP)
Direct Strike Hard Target Weapon / Big BLU

Boeing's Phantom Works is leading the effort to demonstrate the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). The three-phase technology demonstration builds on design studies that Boeing had conducted for the laboratory. Flight testing is envisaged around 2006. The 6 m [20 feet] long MOP features short-span wings and trellis-type tails. The 13,600 kg [30,000 lb] weapon contains a 2,700 kg [6,000 lb] explosive charge. MOP is designed to go deeper than any nuclear bunker buster and take out 25 percent of the underground and deeply buried targets. It is expected to penetrate as much as 60 meters [200 feet] through 5,000 psi reinforced concrete. It will burrow 8 meters into the ground through 10,000 psi reinforced concrete. Northrop Grumman is working on with Boeing to develop this conventional bunker buster. They are under contract to Air Force Research Laboratory's Munitions Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

While complete physical destruction may be desired, for some hard and deeply buried targets this effect isn't practicable with current weapons and employment techniques. It may be possible, however, to deny or disrupt the mission or function of a facility. Functional defeat is facilitated through better data collection and intelligence preparation against the potential targets. The defeat process includes finding and identifying a facility, characterizing its function and physical layout, determining its vulnerabilities to available weapons, planning an attack, applying force, assessing damage, and, if necessary, suppressing reconstitution efforts and re-striking the facility. New more lethal defeat options for Hard and Deeply Buried Targets (HDBTs) like the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, that can overwhelm target characterization uncertainties, are being developed ...

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/dshtw.htm

[Tubby]

The Bunker Buster is a conventional weapon, not a "mini-nuke", so what the hell is wrong with having it in our arsenal?

Better to have it on the shelf and need it than not on the shelf and need it.

Build the bloody thing, already!

[oldpotsmuggler]

Sure, build it. Just have the contract provide for a completion date subsequent to January of 2008.

[RumiSouth]

Aren't lawmakers cute when they use big words? Especially when they don't know what the words actually mean. Like when Norm Dicks says the B-2 MOPP "adds to our deterrent," it's so cute you just want to pinch his cheeks and say: "Awww! Who's got a defense contractor in his district? WHO?! That's right, YOU DO!"

http://www.osborneink.com

[realpolitic]

We used to be a country that could build wonderful things. Why can we now only blow things up?

[hopeless277]

If anyone expects the chickenshits to stand up to the chickenhawks then I have a nice condo in Tehran I'd like to sell you. If this congress does nothing and Bush attacks Iran.....why did I say 'if'??? I meant when. Anyway, when Iran is nuked by Bush, it will be very clear that Iran is not the only country under attack from Cheney/Bush. The United States will also be under attack. As if it's not already.

[nypoet22]

Will they ever learn? Everything Bush has ever had permission to use, he has overused. Everything he has had permission to do, he has done well beyond even the wildest expectations. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me thousands of times in sequence, I must be a Democrat in Congress.

[syllepsis]

And what does that say about the fools who voted in the Democrats last year? (myself among them).

[Dap]

Dear Mr. Naiman,

It's been a while since I last stopped by, excellent report.

Hate to say I told ya so, BUT, I told ya so. :) That's been about two years ago now, right here on Huffington Post. Anyway, it is not relevant, that the Bu$h junta and criminal cabal is not going to use nuclear bunker buster bombs on Iran, fact is these new weapon systems are even more dangerous, because of there power, and they are not prohibited from use/are more acceptable to use. It's a sad mindset indeed. Perverse come to mind.

I think the use of these weapons should be condemed by the world community before they're used. They are WMD's beyond any doubt, ugly tools.

Thanks for your efforts Robert. Agape.

[stlrfan]

Deterent does not appear in the neo-con dictionary.