[nateburke]

My guess is nuclear test.

Airport circle to secure the transport of the device to the ground adjacent to the test site.

Trapezoid is the test site, wider on the side that is less controllable (border-facing).

Disconnected because two separate teams executed in parallel without informed oversight.

[kakacik]

While Mexican side has no restrictions - that would be supremely dumb even for a primary school level of thinking. Tons of civilians dead with clear reason who caused it, completely preventable.

Fantasy often likes extreme options but most probably saner reason like expected strike on cartels and their retaliation is whats happening.

[pixl97]

>supremely dumb even for a primary school level of thinking

So 100% Trump

[estearum]

... I don't think they're detonating a nuclear weapon in a National Monument 50 miles from a large US city...

There are plenty of better places for them to do this.

[nateburke]

NTS was 60-80 mi away from Las Vegas.

yes there might be safer locations for an underground nuclear test, but how many of them offer the same "F U" PR capacity relative to Mexico/Juarez/cartels, etc.

[estearum]

A nuclear weapon is only "F U" PR to cartels if you believe they're literally braindead, which given that they run massive international businesses, I suspect they're not.

Nukes mean nothing to a cartel. What an insane idea.

[peyton]

It’s probably not SOP to land nuclear weapons at the municipal airport either.

[jjk166]

There is a military base with its own airfield located within El Paso basically right next to El Paso International Airport.

[donkeybeer]

While we have an excuse explanation from the admin now which nobody knows how true or not it is, its trump of course. Why is it off or weird that he'd want to see a big boom.