America stakes its all

Last weekend, the US used for the first time on Afghanistan soil a powerful BLU-82 bomb weighing 6.7 tons and is 3.6 metres long. In its size, it is comparable with a Volkswagen car. One such bomb costs $27,000. Such bombs are dropped by S-130 cargo aircrafts flying at the altitude of not less than 1,000m. Their range of damage makes up 600m, the shock wave being felt through several kilometers’ distance. The bomb has been dubbed by US military a “camomile chopper” conveying the character of the damage it causes. Such bombs were used by the US during the Vietnam war, in particular, to clear jungles to create a landing place for several helicopters at once. Later, they were used in the Gulf War. And now they are being used against the Taliban. It cannot be said that Osama bin Laden’s training camps are targeted with these bombs. Rather, America is clearing way for the Northern Alliance to go on offensive. Therefore, Washington has to be in a hurry. A harsh winter is coming in Afghanistan, and it will be very difficult to wage and win a war under such conditions. Therefore, despite Moslems’ blessed month of Ramadan, bombardments are supposed to continue. At the same time, the Northern Alliance’s troops have freed the Zaribazar province located 100km south of Mazari-Sharif. Failing to seize the city straight off, Dustum has made up his mind to change tactics and is now tightening the ring round the Taliban.

Dmitri Litvinovich PRAVDA.Ru

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2001/11/06/33454.html