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U.S. using massive 'daisy cutter' bombCompiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, WASHINGTON -- The United States has begun attacking the Taliban military forces with the biggest conventional bomb in the Air Force arsenal, a 15,000-pound behemoth used as much for its psychological impact as for its explosive power. BLU-82s were dropped on Taliban positions in northern Afghanistan for the first time over the weekend, Knight-Ridder and the Associated Press reported, quoting Pentagon officials. First created during the Vietnam War to quickly clear jungle landing zones, the bomb, nicknamed the "daisy cutter," also was used against Iraqi troops during the Gulf War. The BLU-82, which uses ammonium nitrate explosive to generate massive pressure that can kill or maim fighters hiding in caves and tunnels, can be dropped only from the MC-130 Combat Talon, a military cargo plane adapted for special operations. It drops by parachute and detonates just above the ground. Because its blast is so enormous, the bomb must be dropped from an altitude of at least 6,000 feet. At the Pentagon Tuesday, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, said the U.S. military had dropped two BLU-82s recently in Afghanistan. "As you would expect, they make a heck of a bang when they go off, and the intent is to kill people," Pace said. They are especially effective against troops in light defensive positions, he noted.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
