# Big Bomb **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 13, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bomb/160982 "2003-03-13T00:49:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@lout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lout)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bomb/160982/1 "2003-03-13T00:49:52Z")
Bush is sending videotapes of a huge bomb tested today in Florida for viewing on Iraqi TV. MOAB, privately known in military circles as “the mother of all bombs,” has been under development since late last year. The bomb carries 18,000 pounds of tritonal explosives, which have an indefinite shelf life. It replaces the Vietnam-era “Daisy Cutter,” a 15,000-pound bomb with 12,600 pounds of the less-powerful GSX explosives. As originally conceived, the MOAB was to be used against large formations of troops and equipment or hardened above-ground bunkers. The target set has also been expanded to include deeply buried targets. But military officials tell CNN that the MOAB is mainly conceived as a weapon employed for “psychological operations.” Military officials say they hope the MOAB will create such a huge blast that it will rattle Iraq troops and pressure them into surrendering or not even fighting. Officials suggest perhaps the Iraqis might even mistake a MOAB blast for a nuclear detonation. [http://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/03/11/sprj.irq.moab/index.html](http://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/03/11/sprj.irq.moab/index.html) Lubna Saad, age 17 Monday, March 3, 2003 Lubna Saad. Photo by Ramzi Kysia. I am Lubna Saad. I am seventeen years old. I am student in Al-Aadamya Secondary School for girls. I live near the school and I love watching TV, and specially the movies. I hope I will be a lawyer in the future and to travel to America and I want to told you something - when I get out my house in the night I saw the moon and I believe that all the people in the world would see it even in different times. So I wish that we all live in peace and visit each other. Thank you. Tuesday, March 4, 2003 At first I would like to introduce myself and my simple family. My name is Lubna. I’ve one brother named Bashar and two sisters named Dina and Farah. I live with my parents in Baghdad. This is Tuesday I woke up on 10:20 morning and I have my breakfast at 11:00 o’clock. After that I began to do my homework. I studied Economics, Sociology and I suppose to studied computer because I have an examination in the computer lesson tomorrow. So I took a long time to do my homework. Through that I was went to my mother to help her in housework. She can’t do all of it alone as you know. After that I have my lunch at 2:00 o’clock noon and I watched T.V. from time to time while I was eating it. I sat with my father an my mother and Bashar, Dina and Farah for an hour. We usually do that every day in different time. We talk about everything like what we do in school, what we need, and other things. At 5:05 o’clock afternoon I took my shower and at exactly 6:00 o’ clock night I finished my homework. My aunt call me and she told me that my aunt in Germany sent to my family and to me some things, so I was very happy to hear that my father bring it to us. It was shirts to me and to my sisters, coat to my brother. We wrote letters to her to thanks her about these stuffs. My brother is not so good in school. My mother always push him to study, but he don’t listening to her. I am good in school well rather my sister is good in school too. Today is a holiday of 1324, it is new year A.H. [the Islamic New Year], therefore my father doesn’t went out to work. He is a taxi driver in spite of our car isn’t a taxi, but work on it. At 10:00 o’clock I saw a T.V. program and I wait for the movie, but the actors of the film is not my favor stars. So I went to my bed and I wrote this diary. It is a simple life. It is like any other girl’s life. I don’t care of the news about the war and all of it because if I care I will not made my wishes till my death. Diary of an Iraqi girl [http://electroniciraq.net/news/246.shtml](http://electroniciraq.net/news/246.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bomb/160982/2 "2003-03-13T05:14:33Z")
What exactly is the debate here? I doubt we will use MOAB is area’s populated by civilians, they will most likely be used on large troop concentration/bunker busting. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bomb/160982/3 "2003-03-13T05:36:51Z")
Just what does the “Diary of an Iraqi Girl” have to do with the Mother of All Bombs? Has the author been labeled as a specific target for MOAB-toting C-130s or is it a “Think of the children!” argument? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-bomb/160982/4 "2003-03-13T06:00:23Z")
**Moderator’s Note:** I don’t really see a debate here, either, just a couple of cut-and-paste selections from different web sites. If you want to start a debate about some particular aspect of U.S. foreign policy or military strategy, please tell us what it is you want to talk about.