# The power of non-nuclear bombs

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-of-non-nuclear-bombs/166241
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 3, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-of-non-nuclear-bombs/166241 "2003-04-03T17:13:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-power-of-non-nuclear-bombs/166241/1 "2003-04-03T17:13:20Z")

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The US has been bombing the bejeezus out of Bagdag yet there seems to be more targets worthy of being hit - or targets worth hitting again. I’d think, with the power of bunker busters, MOABs, etc. that we’d be doing nothing more at this time but make the rubble bounce.

From a layman’s point of view, just how much power is packed into these bombs and how much can be delivered to the target effectively?

The newspapers give the MOAB at 21,000 lbs - what’s that really mean? What would happen if I dropped it in the center of the Pentagon’s central court? A lot of new windows? Removal of the inner ring? Building just a memory? What would happen if I hit my local shopping mall with a bunker buster?