The Death of a Green Beret and the MOAB Drop in Afghanistan

THE BREAKING NEWS IS THE MOAB DROP IN AFGHANISTAN. All the media outlets are reporting, but the information is sparce since the MOAB drop was a complete surprise. Newsmax auoted the AP and Reuters, as did other outlets to describe what had happened. As Newsmax put it : "The United States dropped a massive GBU-43 bomb, the largest non-nuclear bomb it has ever used in combat, in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday against a series of caves used by Islamic State militants, the military said. Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump says it was the first-ever combat use of the bomb, known as the GBU-43, which contains 11 tons of explosives. It was first tested in March 2003, just days before the start of the Iraq war. It was the first time the United States has used this size bomb in a conflict. It was dropped from a MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, close to the border with Pakistan, Stump said. The Air Force calls it the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb. Based on the acronym, it has been nicknamed the "Mother Of All Bombs." General John Nicholson, the head of US and international forces in Afghanistan, said the bomb was used against caves and bunkers housing fighters of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, also known as ISIS-K. 'This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against ISIS-K,' Nicholson said in a statement. It was not immediately clear how much damage the bomb did." CNBC's report added that Stump said : "As ISIS-K's losses have mounted, they are using IEDs, bunkers and tunnels to thicken their defense." The AP quotes Stump as saying that the bomb was dropped on cave complex believed to have Islamic State fighters. • White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in a daily briefing on Thursday that ISIS fighters use the caves to "move around freely." He explained that in order to defeat the terrorist group, the US must deny it operational space : “The U.S. takes the fight against ISIS very seriously and to defeat the group we must deny them operational space -- which we did.” Spicer declined to comment further on the bomb, referring requests to the Department of Defense. • The Pentagon said in a statement : "US forces took every precaution to avoid civilian casualties with this strike. US forces will continue offensive operations until ISIS-K is destroyed in Afghanistan." • It is being reported that the original goal of the MOAB was to act as a non-nuclear deterrent against Saddam Hussein, quoting comments made by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to CNN and other reporters in 2003. The bomb was then rapidly produced in-house at the Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate where it quickly made its way into the lab for prototype production, according to the Eglin Air Force Base. • Newsmax said that most of what is publicly available about the GBU-43 comes from a 2008 article from the Eglin Air Force Base. The piece, which marked the five-year anniversary of the bomb, says that the GBU-43 weighs a massive 21,600 pounds. Fox News sqid : "For comparison to the 21,000-pound MOAB, each Tomahawk cruise missile launched at a Syrian military air base last week was 1,000-pounds each." During testing, the weapon created a mushroom cloud that could be seen 20 miles away from the blast, according to the Air Force story. "What's worse than unleashing on society the wrath of the largest non-nuclear bomb yet to be made?" the 2008 Eglin Air Force Base piece asked. "Letting the world know it's out there and ready to be used at any moment." • Each MOAB costs around $16 million, according to military information website Deagel. With 20 made so far, the site says the US military has spent some $314 million on the production of the explosive. • On Thursday, Barbara Starr, CNN's Pentagon corrspondent, reported that the bomb was dropped by an MC-130 aircraft, flown by Air Force Special Operations Command, that the target was tunnels used by ISIS terrorists in the Achin district of the Nangarhar province, and that the military is doing a damage assessment so casualty figures were not immediately clear. • Zero Hedge took the longer look, saying that the MOAB drop may well have been in preparation for "upcoming events on the Korean Peninsula....We expect the Trump administration will promptly released a video of the bombing, which may serve a secondary purpose of hinting to North Korea's Kim what may be coming. While we wait, here is a video of the bomb in action." • Fox News also quoted a US defense official who said that the bombing comes just days after a Green Beret was killed fighting ISIS in the region. The American Military News reported that the Green Beret killed Saturday fighting ISIS in Afghanistan has been identified as Staff Sergeant Mark De Alencar. The Department of Defense release said he died of injuries sustained from small arms fire while his unit conducted counter-ISIS operations in Nangarhar Province. De Alencar was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. His remains are scheduled to arrive at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware on Monday. De Alencar enlisted in 2009 and graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in 2016. General John W. Nicholson, commander of US Forces-Afghanistan and Resolute Support, said in a statement : “On behalf of all US Forces-Afghanistan, I offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of our fallen comrade. We will always remember our fallen comrades and commit ourselves to deliver on their sacrifice. On behalf of all US Forces-Afghanistan, I offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of our fallen comrade.” According to the release, he died of injuries sustained from small arms fire while his unit conducted counter-ISIS operations in Nangarhar Province. • President Donald Trump said he is very proud of the US military after what he called a "very, very successful mission. The President said : "Everybody knows exactly what happened and 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." Trump's comments followed a meeting with first responders at the White House on Thursday. The President said his confidence in the military is "frankly why they've been so successful lately. If you look at what's happened over the last eight weeks and compare that to really what's happened over the last eight years, you'll see there's a tremendous difference." • • • DEAR READERS, as we prepare to celebrate Easter, it is Good Friday that leads the way, with its story of boundless love and suffering in the cause of human salvation. I was preparing a message for Good Friday, but I think another message is more fitting today. • To the US military, and to all Green Berets, with prayers for Staff Sergeant Mark De Alencar, the Green Beret who gave his life for the cause of freedom. • The men of the Special Forces are masters of their profession, the profession of arms. Theirs is more than a job or an occupation. It is a way of life that requires a personal commitment found nowhere else in society. Its obligation is dedication...it's demands, duty and loyalty...it's principle, integrity...and its reward, personal satisfaction. Their countrymen see them as the epitome of the American fighting man. Their badge of distinction is the Green Beret known and respected worldwide. They wear it proudly! De Oppresso Liber.