On April 13th, 2017 the United States military dropped the largest conventional bomb in it’s arsenal on an ISIS cave complex in Afghanistan. The bomb killed at least 94 ISIS fighters. The blast destroyed three underground tunnels as well as weapons and ammunition, but no civilians were hurt, Afghan and US officials said. The US military defended its decision when it was questioned on whether the 21,600-pound conventional bomb was necessary for that particular target. The 30-foot-long, GPS-guided bomb is capable of destroying an area equivalent to nine city blocks. "This was the right weapon against the right target," Gen. John Nicholson, commander for US forces in Afghanistan at a news conference. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he …show more content…
Gen. HR McMaster, to Afghanistan "to find out how we can make progress alongside our Afghan partners and NATO allies." Trump described the Afghanistan bombing as "another very, very successful mission." It came a week after he authorized a US missile strike against a Syrian government air base; the first US strike against the Syrian government in the country's six-year civil war. Residents of villages near the target area claim they felt the powerful explosion. One resident living 1 and a half miles from the blast said he heard an "extremely loud boom that smashed the windows of our house." He also said “I have witnessed a countless number of explosions and bombings in the last 30 years of war in Afghanistan, but this one was more powerful than any other bomb as far as I remember." Students at Battlefield High School express their opinions about the bomb dropped. Alexandra Lalos, freshmen at Battlefield said “I feel like the United States military made the right decision. The bomb did its job and no civilians were hurt so I think it was very successful.” Tara Delaney, junior at Battlefield said “The bomb was the right fit for the
"U.S. Drone Strike in Syria Takes Out Khorasan Bomb-Maker: Officials - NBC News." NBC News. Web. 7 Nov. 2014. <http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-drone-strike-syria-takes-out-khorasan-bomb-maker-n242626>.
Operation Anaconda was the first major joint combat operation against the war on terror that the US was committed to winning. This operation would test our military’s readiness for joint operations against a hardened and willing adversary. The primary mission was to kill/capture Taliban/Al Qaeda forces occupying towns and villages in the vicinity of Shahi Khot in order to gain control of the valley.1 The US needed the towns, villages, mountains, and more importantly, the intricate and hard to access caves cleared of enemy fighters. Units participating in the operation included elements of the 101st Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, Special Operations Forces (SOF), and Coalition forces from seven nations
The Battle of Wanat is widely recognized as one of the most organized attacks against U.S forces in the Afghanistan war. This battle produced the most casualties on the American side since the start of the war in 2001. Nine United States soldiers were killed and 27 were wounded; however, between 21- 51 Taliban forces were claimed to have been killed. The Taliban forces knew where to attack the U.S. forces base and focus most of their fire power on the base weak spots. As for the United States, the biggest target was their most casualty producing weapons: a U.S. mortar tube and 50 Cal machine guns. The American forces also put the patrol base in an area that was hard to defend with many blind spots. The Taliban forces outnumbered U.S. forces vastly, attacking with about 300-400 Taliban soldiers to only 45
At least 31 were killed in twin bombings which targeted a popular ice cream parlor in Baghdad, Iraq and another area in downtown on May 30, according to Iraqi officials.
The Oklahoma City Bombing was a significant event in the history of terrorism in the United States. On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a powerful vehicle-borne explosive device in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The blast killed 168 people, including 19 children, and hundreds of people were injured. Roughly one third of the federal building was destroyed, and many neighboring buildings were also destroyed or damaged. The bombing was considered the deadliest domestic terror attack in U.S. history (FBI, "Terror"). As a result, the way people viewed bombings and terrorism in general greatly changed.
So far, the Taliban has reported that 1,500 people have been killed on the U.S. bombing raids. (Washington Post) Even though these numbers are suspected to be exaggerated, these deaths are justified because the Taliban has the potential to kill many more than 1,500 people. The September 11 attacks prove that. Also the Taliban is partly to blame for the high number of civilian deaths because they have
Opening Paragraph, Thesis Statement: As the U.S is faced with the threat of terrorism, all branches of the government must contribute in order to ensure the safety of all American citizens; President Obama has a set of standards and procedures for handling terrorist threats, the Legislative Branch has agreed to these policies and addition, created an insurance program to protect those affected by terrorism, and the Supreme Court has heard cases in order to ensure the President’s standards are upheld and procedures are followed.
At 9:02 a.m. CST, a rental truck filled with explosives is detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was all planned by two former US army soldiers Timothy McVeigh, and Terry Nichols. Approximately, 500 people were injured, 168 people were dead including 19 children who were in the daycare of the building. This bombing shook the whole country. Luckily, the Army veteran Timothy McVeigh is arrested in a traffic stop because he got caught driving a car without license plate.
The GBU-43/B aka the MOAB destroyed an entire tunnel complex in afghanistan on april 13, 2017. the us troops not being able to advance through the tunnel complex were able to get through the area. The MOAB is an ideal weapon to use in modern warfare because of the giant blast if releases
I have an afghan friend named Haisha. We met in the 6th grade at Greenfield Elementary School and became best friends. On April 13, 2017 our military, under orders from President Trump dropped the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) in Afghanistan to kill Isis fighter. While I understand the president's responsibility is to protect our country from it's enemies, it should not be done with the blatant disregard for innocent human lives. A bomb of that magnitude has repercussion will beyond it's one mile radius impact. In addition, to the number of innocent fatalities the environmental affects will be felt for years to come. Haisha's heart aches at the
Afghanistan’s government is in a state of chaos and it is America’s fault. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, America quickly reacted and fought the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden; taking then out of power. The problem with that, is the Taliban were the ones keeping Afghanistan stable. America has tried to stabilize the Afghan government but has failed due to: the constant violence and acts of terrorism, the many ethnic groups and their conflicts, and the rough, mountainous geography of the country.
As a country, that many people find it hard to live in, Afghanistan has so much hate and terror within the country. Afghanistan has very minority major cities, which many Afghans live in poverty in the area. Afghanistan has roughly thirty two million people, alienated up into their own tribes. Kabul and Kandahar are one of the few larger cities that many Afghans live in; however, vast amounts of people have isolated towards Pakistan and Iran due to a lack of infrastructure. Most Afghan people study the Pashtu or Dari language, which is common.
In January, three American civilian contractors were shot dead at Kabul airport by an Afghan soldier who was also killed. In April, an American soldier was killed by an Afghan soldier inside the governor’s compound in eastern Nangarhar province. the foreign soldiers, and it ended in shooting,” Atal said.
The War in Afghanistan has been an all consuming conflict for the US government since we started to launch air strikes on October 7, 2001. This is a conflict that’s been brewing since before the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This war has the continuation of past conflicts in it, conflicts that can be connected a good deal to the interference of other large powers, such as the USSR. From keeping an eye on the oil reserves, pressuring Iran, and keeping Pakistan stable, our interests and motives for occupying Afghanistan are undeniably laced with many ulterior motives, providing us with the issue of unfavorable opinion and our interests being the source of terrorist attacks. Afghanistan is a country that has been plagued with