Should Trump Have Let the Generals Drop the Mother of All Bombs?
By Thom Hartmann A...
Dropping the so-called Mother of All Bombs on Afghanistan has earned Donald Trump another round of glowing coverage from the war-hungry Beltway media.
But the decision to use America's biggest non-nuclear weapon in Afghanistan wasn't really his - it was the generals'.
So - should it reassure us that the professionals are in charge?
Or scare us even more?
The Pentagon has released video of Thursday's Mother of All Bomb strike in Afghanistan that it Afghan officials say killed 36 ISIS fighters.
Questions remain, however, about just how necessary the strike really was and whether any civilians were killed.
One thing's for sure, though, we'll probably see more of this because Donald Trump has more or less given the generals free reign to bomb the you-know-what out of anything they want.
"What I do is I authorize my military. We have the greatest military in the world and they've done their job as usual. So, we have given them total authorization. Frankly, that's why they've been so successful lately."
So this bomb, we just have to take the Pentagon's word for it that it was necessary. We've been at war for 15 years, and haven't had to use it. But we had to use it now.
Should we be concerned that Trump seems to be giving the military this much latitude?
Comments
#2
With his blanket approval of the military, Trump is taking the Congress out of the equation, and - although he might not realize it - insulated from the blame. Not only is this hands-off approach alarming, it's an indication of just how lazy, incapable, and sociopathic he is. Trump sees overseas death as helpful headlines, nothing more.
#3
There is no reason for concern. At least not among good old freedom loving white Mericans. Trump is only dropping bombs on them thar brown fur-n-neers - ya know them Moo-hammock loving infidels. Those heathens who hate Jesus and us Gawd fearing Mericans! It duzn't count that Presidente Trump duzn't love Gawd like we true red bluuded Mericans cause Gawd loves him anyway. Why Gawd chose Trump to do his bidding or why else would the multiple billionaire bidnessman Trump be our Presidente? Cause Gawd hates Musclemens with His holiest passions and He wants those infidels wiped from the face of the earth. And there ain't no better way than dropping the biggest bomb we have on them Musclemens to solve the problem. Trump knows what Gawd wants cause he would not use such bombs on Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians or Anglicans even if they lived in French Fry loving France! Just Musclemens! Just Musclemens. Trump. He's right with Gawd so sit down and shut up your Liberal Musclemen loving pinko commie!
#4
They proved that they could drop this $16 million bomb on an enemy that has no aerial defense. Dropping on an enemy with air defense would be impossible.
#5
I agree it is highly probable that the US military will be at war with Russia by years end if not sooner. El Presidente Trump, who couldn't pour water out of a boot with a faucet in the toe and instructions written on the sole, is definitely flaling in the deep end. Furthermore he apparently does not possess even the awareness beyond himself of a basic nematode and will sit back in the Oval Office and paint his toenails while the US War Machine continues to reek havoc across the planet. As we all know a Presidente is only presidential when his or hers military is dealing death and destruction at once to several parts of the planet.
As for China, short of us attacking them directly, I think they will sit back and let Putin take the blows. This is clearly a case where the enemy of my enemy is my friend does not apply. As long as Trump does not order the military to attack China they will sit on the sidelines waiting to occupy Russia and pick the carcass clean. That is if there is a carcass left to pick clean. Dropping the biggest non nuclear bomb now is most certainly a precursor to dropping a nuclear one on Syria or Iran or Russia in the future.
#6
Aw come on Thom! If you can't trust your generals to execute foreign policy, who CAN you trust? .... Huh?
#7
Letting the generals do anything that they want is veryk dangerous!
The large bomb was probably developed to penetrate to the underground Uranium enrichment installations in Iran. The use against the tuknnels in Afghanistan may have eliminated a few of the lesser individuals of the Taliban but any effects will probably never be knokwn. This is not good policy.
Whken Osama bin Laden was walking outside suh tuknnels in Afganistan in December 2001, sombody prevented action by a sniper against him. This has never bee investigated and reported who stopped the action. It would be einteresting as the possibility of saving several hundreds or possibly thousands of American soldiers lives and injuries might have been possible. We'll never know.
#8
Trump trumpets that there has been more action in his first 8 weeks than in the previous 8 years. True. And we are closer than ever to the brink of war - with multiple nations for different reasons.
#9
I still can't believe Trump is the president. It's frightening to know we have someone who's so unpredictable with so much power. I can see him being manipulated by the generals to get what they want. And that's always more war. Not that Obama wasn't a war monger himself. He did plenty of damage and pushed the envelope even farther for Trump. Who knows what follies the next 4 years will bring us.
#10
Lets just say I know Pussy Riot!
#11
Whose judgment is better?
Trump is clueless on many things related to being president, and doesn't care to learn; he'll execute military strategy the same way he did AHCA, i.e.; "you guys work it out, I'll approve it." As for the generals; some are war mongers, but they know something about the difficulties of war, know something about history, they know that it isn't just that simple. Also, the generals won't be making decisions unilaterally; there are multiple Joint Chiefs as well as the Secretary of Defense and Congress that will have input into decisions. I don't see decisions coming down to just "Trump says so."
#12
This is the ANTITHESIS of General/President Dwight D. Eisenhower's caution as he left the White House in the 60's; "Beware of the Military/Industrial Complex." he said. He knew that as bloated as it could become, war would always be necessary to keep it bloated, fat and necessary. If I buy a new "toy", I look for reasons to use it. Dropping that bomb did not instill the sense that this administration has wisdom or restraint.
#13
Note: a 1mile blast radius for any weapon is a weapon of mass destruction. How many people can you fit into a mile?
#14
bboan. Already, reports are trickling in of civilian deaths. The primary reason Bush and Obama never used the MOAB was because of the potential for high casualty rates of innocent victims -- including babies, beautiful, beautiful babieees!
It explodes just a few feet above ground level, the moment its nose touches, sucking all the air out of its destructive radius, turning everything to fire, crumbling even reinforced concrete. Good luck finding burnt-to-crisp bodies in all the smoldering rubble!
The military is just making up the number of people obliterated. Their phony next-day, on-paper calculation is simple: if you're dead, well then, you must have been an enemy combatant.
#15
So much for civilian control over the military...
Trump is the "mother of all fools" (no offense to mothers) and too stupid to be Commander in Chief; the military command is too vested in their own interests to make balanced foreign policy decisions; the Republican congress is too much in the pocket of the defense industry, the oil industry, the banking industry, and any other greedy monopoly that opens its wallet, to do their constitutional duty and debate the wisdom of endless warfare, which only succeeds in creating endless new generations of terrorists; the electorate is too distracted with corporate media lies, half-truths, and "patriotic" jingoism to vote intelligently. Basically, we're f*cked!
Elections have consequences...
#16
All of these wars are nothing but money churning pot boilers. None of them are necessary. They are all "manufactured consent" and money tree shakers. It just goes to show what little regard the people behind the green velvet curtain have for life itself. We are being driven by a bunch of money addicted losers with narcissistic notions of grandeur; little men casting long shadows. When Reagan cautioned us to be afraid of the government, he wasn't just whistling Dixie.
#17
Exactly, deepspace. I couldn't agree with you more. Our Congress is nothing but one big puppet show.
#18
I have no idea if Thom ever reads our replys, but if he does, this one is directed at him. We are on the precipice of a giant foreign policy mistake by Trump. Don't ask me how I know this, but if you are really concerned about the future of the planet Thom, please talk about and expose the connection between Trump and Putin!
#19
Reagan didn't warn us to be afraid of government. He warned to be afraid of Democrats in government, which is nothing more than political propaganda. Eisenhower warned us about the might of the industrial military complex and that is what has long since taken over our government. NOW you need to be afraid!
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