Page 10 - Tunnel Complex News Today

Pentagon and the afghan ministry this morning. the commander of u.s. forces in afghanistan, general john nicholson called this the right weapon against the right target. the u.s. coordinated with the afghan government on this. he also said the u.s. forces on the ground have seen no evidence of civilian casualties. this mother of all bombs so-called was dropped in a very remote mountainous area of afghanistan. the target was a series of tunnels and caves used by isis militants. the afghan defense...

In shorthand, largest nonnuclear bomb the air force has in its convinces. >> well, this bomb is 11,000 -- its 11 tons of tnt, so its going to set off an enormous blast. it will feel like a nuclear blast to anyone in the area. theres the psychological thing. you have to figure out what weapon you want to use when a target presents itself. in this area, mountains and caves and this tunnel complex, you want something thats going to be able to get a blast effect into those caves, into those tunnels....

Complex in afghanistan near the pakistan border, but the decision to use this particular weapon could have some serious global consequences. lets bring in our panel of experts. phil mudd, this is a significant development, but from your perspective how significant? >> i think there are two pieces that are significant. first, if youre bashar al assad and you look those tomahawk missiles last week you have to be saying, i hope this one is not dropped on us. i think whether the message was meant to...

Of how difficult it will be to win this war. the u.s. government says last year in 2016 the afghans lost ground to the taliban. were going to be in this forever and this is an indication of why. >> and, chris tal, as you know, during the campaign then candidate donald trump promised if he were promise he would bomb the you know what out of isis. >> yep. >> is this consistent with that pledge? >> well, yeah. i mean yes on its face. it is hard to say it is not. it is fascinating to me because it c...

It actually works in a combat environment. basically pushed out the back of a c-130. i think it weighs out at about 25,000 pounds when it comes off the aircraft. >> when youre talking about a big underground tunnel complex, describe for me if youre sitting in this room, if youre in a tunnel, no matter how far underground or deep, the capacity, you can kill everybody? >> well, it depends on the proximity of the blast to the tunnels and how extensive the tunnel network is. but when you drop this t...

They can determine how much damage they really did. this is the first use in combat of this weapon. >> just showing our viewers the video of the test of this moab bomb back in 2003. you see the plume of smoke that comes up after the bomb has been detonated. a bomb that has been used for the first time in combat in afghanistan. what youre saying, barbara, is that theyre now going through the damage assessment. were they trying to destroy this tunnel? were there people or isis folks inside? do we ...

Ambassador to the united states. mr. ambassador, welcome. >> thank you. >> how did you learn about this bomb and your reaction? >> well, there had been an operation in afghanistan in this area for over six weeks, and the last week it intensified, but our security forces along with the u.s. special forces couldnt make any further progress because dash had mined the area with ieds quite heavily, and that resulted in dropping the bomb that would clear the tunnel complex and prevent them from being ...

Theyre saying bin laden may have been in the area where this monster was dropped. it was unbelievable what happened. they had to have, if it didnt kill them, would have to shake their resolve and let them understand that there is no escaping, no escaping now from the resolve of the united states. so the purpose of dropping this bomb, aside from the tactical, you know, destroying the cave complex, tunnel complex, of having flash backs talking about the cave and tunnel complex because thats what a...

Contributor, pete hexter. is this escalation in afghanistan? >> not necessarily. the commanders on the ground have unwanted to unleash hill on the taliban and isis. but rules of engagement, constraints from the white house have prevented them from fighting the war you need to. this is one strike but its the right step and motivate guys on the ground. this is a direct response to the fact that we lost a green beret fighting on the ground. >> is it retaliation? >> the pentagon wont admit that. but...

Afghanistan. we had troops all over the country up to 100,000 at one point, so the use of special operations forces and conventional ground forces to rouse the taliban and al qaeda and other terrorists from positions was an option more available. now, the air weapon is basically the key weapon that we are using to go after these types of tunnel complex. >> so did the u.s. military from your perspective make the right call in dropping this mother of all bombs? >> we dont know enough to be sure ye...