People interested in space-based warfare often talk about the “kinetic missile.”  If developed, this would be a type of bunker-buster, that is, a weapon designed to destroy underground facilities.  The concept is simple.  Put a metal rod, mounted with rockets and controlled from the ground, into earth orbit.  When you choose, you can aim the rocket at a target on the ground and drive into that target at orbital velocity.  This has the same effect as a meteor strike.  The destructive potential of the kinetic missile is so great that the common nickname for them is “the Rod from God.” 

Today NASA drove a rocket into a target on the Moon.  The stated purpose of this operation was to find water under the surface of the Moon.  It also showed the world that the USA is ready to deploy kinetic missiles at any time.   

Who would be frightened by this demonstration?  Some feverish minds have speculated that the US may be planning a kinetic missile strike on Iranian nuclear facilities in the near term.  Official US sources have fed this speculation by acknowledging that the Defense Department is trying to develop a new generation of bunker-busters specifically to have available against facilities like that at Qom. 

Whether the Iranians are frightened, we don’t yet know.  The Norwegian Nobel Committee certainly seems to be; they responded to the test by immediately awarding Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize.   The Committee’s official announcement gives the reason for Mr O’s selection as “that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman.”  I suppose that sounded better than, “We didn’t want to be the next ones he bombed.”