Neutralizing Pickaxe Mountain

COMMON SENSE: Many, including the New York Times, believe that President Trump’s cessation of hostilities means he is winding down military operations in Iran. Perhaps this is true, but I doubt it. Instead, I suspect he is giving our military a much-needed day or two off before launching a massive new round of aggression. There are valid reasons why my viewpoint is accurate.

Although I do not have inside information, here is why I think I’m right. Although Iran has taken a pounding, losing their navy, air force, communications structure, and nearly everything needed to wage war, they continue to resist. Despite losing nearly all of their military, they stubbornly hold on, far beyond the point of rationality. But why would they do this?

To us, this seems like an insane strategy, even for those of us who understand the nihilistic beliefs of Twelver Shiism. That being a given, could something different be going on? If so, what?

I believe they be much closer to creating a nuclear weapon, or numerous nuclear weapons, than we think, despite what we accomplished last year by bombing Fordow and four other nuclear facilities. If I’m correct, at least we know where this is happening—Pickaxe Mountain.

If they are working day and night to build a bomb, then we have a dilemma. Because the nuclear facility they’ve created is 400 feet deep, built beneath solid granite, our 30-thousand bunker-busting bombs, even after multiple, sustained strikes would not have the capacity to destroy what the Iranians are doing.

By building this facility, they believe they’ve outsmarted us. From their perspective, they consider this is their ace in the hole—their trump card. Once they have a bomb, this would change everything. Iran would once again, almost immediately, become the bully of the Middle East, threatening every nation, especially Israel.

If I’m right, and I may very well be, what military option do we have that would be effective in neutralizing the Pickaxe facility? In my opinion, we would need to go back to an option deployed by the Marines against the Japanese in World War II. Our GI’s, fighting from island to island, deployed a strategy that worked.

We’ve all seen news footage or an old movie about how flame throwers were used to combat Japanese troops that were hidden in caves. Using flame throwers was effective then, and it could be again. In the movies, they made it seem like we burned the enemy to death, but that’s not how flame throwers work. Instead, by shooting flames into the cave, all of the oxygen was consumed. So, the Japanese troops inside suffocated from lack of oxygen.

We could do the same thing at Pickaxe Mountain. By shooting massive amounts of flammable material into every entrance and airshaft of the facility, that would consume all of the oxygen. Everyone inside would suffocate, including Iran’s nuclear scientists. Once done, sealing the entrances with bombs, we would finally put an end to Iran’s nuclear program. To accomplish the operation, Navy Seals, Army Rangers, or Delta Force would need to be deployed, maybe all of them.

If we take away their ace of trumps, which this method would accomplish, it would neutralize their nuclear ambitions. Having nothing remaining to leverage, I suspect they would capitulate.

—Jack Watts