Originally written April 14, 2017

President Trump is dropping MOABs. What’s a MOAB? It’s the largest non-nuclear munition in our military’s arsenal. Its official designation is GBU-43, Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), affectionately referred to as the “Mother Of All Bombs.” It makes a big and loud statement, which is its actual intent.

The Air Force drops MOABs from the back ramp of a cargo plane, usually either a C130 or a C17. That can be a problem because those planes are vulnerable to ground-based missiles, and certainly any adversary combat aircraft. So there are some real limitations on when a MOAB can be used. But, when a statement is needed and there’s an effective way to use it, a MOAB can really do the trick.

A MOAB was dropped yesterday on a site in Afghanistan that supposedly has a very large underground tunnel complex. I’m sure the operative word today is not “has” but “had.” The principle of the weapon is to create a shock wave significant enough to flatten buildings and to shake the earth enough to destroy any near-surface underground structures that aren’t heavily reinforced. It’s said to do a pretty good job, but we have other weapons that can be used for all that, too. The main reason to use a MOAB is the visual and psychological effect it creates. It scares the beejezus out of anyone close enough to hear it or feel the effects of its blast. In fact, it was designed specifically to scare Iraqi insurgents. Now, it’s scaring ISIS and Taliban in Afghanistan. At least, we hope so.

Whenever we do something as showy as drop a MOAB, you should understand the overall effect is not intended to be localized. Its psychological effects are too great for that. You just know that MOAB strike was a message to a whole lot of people. The basic message was a loud and clear, “Don’t mess with the US. We are serious.” That message was to the world at large. Its subtext is that our new President isn’t playing games, and if he believes some military might can help a situation he won’t wait, he’ll act. It appears the message is sinking in. There are other messages more specific. One is to Bashar al-Assad in Syria. That message might just be, “The next one is for you, Mr. Assad!” I suspect he heard it. We shall see.

Then, there’s another guy out there who was supposed to hear. He may not have been listening, but someone will surely get his attention and focus him on his potential future reality. That guy is the little fat man with the funky haircut; that clown over in North Korea who has absolutely no sense and is in danger of creating a major international crisis in the next few weeks. Yes, that little maniac Kim Jong Un either heard or will hear of MOAB, and that’s certain to be part of the big game.

Ever since President Trump was sworn in he’s made moves to broadcast the message of his presence. It’s trite to say “There’s a new sheriff in town.” I won’t use that phrase. My own thought is The Donald, now President The Donald is telling anyone willing to pay attention, “I don’t care what you think, what you do, or what you plan to do. If I want to play a different game, we’re going to play by Trump’s Rules.” Trump’s number one rule appears to be, “Don’t tempt me!” He does seem a mite short tempered, doesn’t he?

President Trump threw a lovely party down at Mar-a-Lago for Xi Jenping, the current President of the People’s Republic of China and also Chairman of their Communist Party. The evening festivities provided an interesting backdrop for the Tomahawk missile strike on Syria, don’t you think? Now that the little cruise missile op demo has been followed up by the Afghanistan MOAB thing, could it be President Trump is broadcasting Trump’s Rules to China, too? It certainly seems so. Reports are that the Chinese People’s Army has massed about 150,000 troops on their border with North Korea. If true, they certainly aren’t doing that because they think the US is about to launch an invasion. Perhaps they’re there to ensure a flood of hungry, scared North Koreans don’t come streaming across that border when the US carrier task force arrives off the North Korean coastline. Or, maybe it’s just Chinese saber rattling. Who knows? We’ll just have to wait and see. But, one thing seems clear, the Chinese have decided to lend us a hand with the little fat Korean demi-god.

When you stand back from it and assess what our government is doing now and compare it with the policies evident over the previous eight years, you just have to blink hard and holler, “WOW!” It’s night and day! President Obama’s policies were downright timid; “lead from behind” in Libya, and “strategic patience” for North Korea. Those translated to “call me if you really, really need me, but I hope you don’t,” and “don’t worry about us, Li’l Kim, we’re okay just as long as you’re having a good time.” Trump’s policies appear to be more of the in-your-face variety, something even more bold than those of our late, great padron, Ronaldus Magnus.

If he keeps up like this Americans are in for one heck of a thrill ride. We’ll have to hang on as tight as if we were riding that crazy-fast Kingda Ka roller coaster. We should all be on pins and needles and ask “What next?” and be certain there will be a next. It would be more amazing if President Trump slacked off rather than found yet another world-wide attention getting gambit. He may well be adjudged as the reincarnation of P.T. Barnum, and the next four years could be remembered as the 21st Century’s Greatest Show on Earth.

Americans need to stop worrying and start acting like Americans again. We’ve grown soft; conditioned by the last five decades of ever-increasing political correctness and purposeful governmental timidity. While I’m absolutely not an international adventurist and interventionist, I do believe our nation is better protected when the dangerous actors on the world stage have a certain amount of fear when dealing with us. We need to save our “Mr. Nice Guy” act for those countries who not only purport to be our friends, but who act like it, too.

It should be easy to understand the debates going on after the Tomahawk and MOAB strikes. Some fear this is prelude to something really dumb and frightening. The hair pulling, screaming-meemie mainstream media gives the appearance they’re wringing their hands in fear that our President is ramping up toward launching a nuke on someone who offends his sensibilities. That’s just hyperbolic nonsense; complete and utter stupidity. Anyone who buys that argument isn’t playing with a full deck.

If Donald Trump is anything, he’s a pragmatist. What he’s doing now is clearing the international dining table, removing all the old dishes and flatware. When he gets ready he’ll start working to reset that table, but he wants to be in a position where he can decide who sits where and what the new dinner ware and silver service patterns will be. Yes, my friends, this is a huge demonstration of power, and some might think it’s a bit overbearing. But, for all those who think we should be the world’s peace cop, you need to pay attention. Reagan proved his philosophy of “peace through strength” works. Trump is going to prove it once again.

Be glad your ticket on this roller coaster has an American flag stamped on it. A lot of other countries out there are going to have a far rougher ride than we. If we adopt the right mindset, we might just find a renewed sense of American pride in all this. We only have to make darned sure our representatives and the administration understand things can’t be allowed to get out of control, either by our side or any of our adversaries. Demonstrating strength is fine, just as long as the constant goal is peace.