Divine Strake is not itself a nuclear blast, but it’s so big that many have said that the test is simply an end-run around the congressional ban funding a nuclear bunker buster.

I have a better idea. We trap the little bastards in their holes and send over some of our own lil’ bastards to entertain them till they surrender. And these guys will play for FREE!

Every wonder what happens when boys grow up? …Bigger bombs.

The blast would be big enough to simulate a nuclear weapon; it will raise a 10,000-foot mushroom cloud of debris, some of which may be radioactive. Indeed, one known hot spot is only 1.1 miles from the blast site. Despite this, Defense and Energy Department spokesmen have assured people there will be “no significant impact” to the environment.

Excerpted “Contrary to most of the media reports, Divine Strake is not testing a conventional bomb but simply detonates a huge pile (700 tons) of Ammonium Nitrate and Fuel Oil (ANFO). For comparison, the largest conventional weapon in the U.S. inventory is the MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast) bomb, which contains nearly nine tons of explosives with a yield of approximately 0.012 kt TNT.”

The reference to low-yield nuclear weapons was omitted from the section in the FY2007 budget request, which instead describes the event like this: “Conduct the Tunnel Target Defeat ACTD large-scale tunnel defeat demonstration using high explosives to produce the desired ground shock environment at the Department of Energy’s Nevada Test Site.” Yet the nuclear reference is used elsewhere in the FY2007 budget:

“The Tunnel Target Defeat ACTD will develop a planning tool that will improve the warfighter’s confidence in selecting the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage.”

btw: The heavy metal band pictured above is called Killbot. Contact me to book them now for your next wedding, baby shower or family reunion so they won’t need to look for jobs in the Defense Department.

UtahAmicus DeeDotes Jen’s Green Journal Steve