Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a decree broadening the scope of when Moscow can use nuclear weapons in a clear message to the West and Ukraine.
Was an actually good reason ever given for the use of that MOAB? My wild hunch is that Trump wanted to do something insane so the MIC distracted him with the biggest non-nuclear boom possible.
I remember someone in the military I knew trying to rationalize it by saying the ordinance was decades old and would have gone to waste if they hadn't dropped it on some guys in a cave, which would obviously be the bigger crime.
Trump thought he could step into office and immediately win the war by being Mega Based Chad and doing the most Epic war thing imaginable shy of a mushroom cloud. Obviously it didn't work, because there was nothing the Afghans had that could justify using the weapon. But it made headlines, which was important for the Trump news cycle.
Putin is looking at a second Trump term and a guy like Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon, and likely thinking he doesn't want Trump to try the same trick twice. It may work, as Trump is typically savvy enough to know not to punch someone who can punch back.
Was an actually good reason ever given for the use of that MOAB? My wild hunch is that Trump wanted to do something insane so the MIC distracted him with the biggest non-nuclear boom possible.
I remember someone in the military I knew trying to rationalize it by saying the ordinance was decades old and would have gone to waste if they hadn't dropped it on some guys in a cave, which would obviously be the bigger crime.
Oh, man. That's fantastic MIC logic. If we don't use it - it'll go stale.
Trump thought he could step into office and immediately win the war by being Mega Based Chad and doing the most Epic war thing imaginable shy of a mushroom cloud. Obviously it didn't work, because there was nothing the Afghans had that could justify using the weapon. But it made headlines, which was important for the Trump news cycle.
Putin is looking at a second Trump term and a guy like Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon, and likely thinking he doesn't want Trump to try the same trick twice. It may work, as Trump is typically savvy enough to know not to punch someone who can punch back.