US News
US reviewing cluster bomb ban
May 31, 2008, 6:13 GMT
Washington - The United States will review an international ban on cluster bombs adopted by more than 100 countries in Dublin on Friday but signalled it has no intention of removing the weapons from its arsenal.
'Certainly the US military perspective on these weapons and their continued necessity for US troops hasn't been changed by the discussions' in Dublin, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.
The United States and a handful of other powers did not participate in the two-week conference hosted by the Irish government and have no intention of signing on to the treaty when it is formally signed in Oslo in December.
The United States, Israel, China, Russia, India and Pakistan stayed away from the conference.
The United States believes the weapons are essential in conventional warfare for attacking large groups of enemy soldiers.
Cluster bombs are munitions that drop hundreds of tennis-ball sized smaller explosives known as 'bomblets,' which scatter and detonate across the battlefield.
But some of the bomblets fail to explode and for years after a conflict has ended can continue to pose a threat to civilians, especially children who often mistake the munitions for toys.
The 111 countries that joined the ban agreed to stop producing and selling the munitions and stop storing them. In a concession to Washington, NATO countries insisted on a clause that allows them to participate in military operations with countries not adhering to the prohibition.
The United States, meanwhile, has designed a more advanced version of the cluster bomb that uses electronic timers to ensure that bomblets either explode as intended or self-destruct to prevent harm to civilians.
The most recent reported use of cluster bombs was during the July-August 2006 Israeli incursion into Lebanon. Israel was heavily criticized for dropping such munitions in civilian areas.
The United States last used the weapons during the 2003 invasion of Iraq but not since because they don't apply well against insurgencies, but rather in traditional military campaigns against amassed troop formations.
© Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
we can't outlaw the ignorance and stupidity displayed by the first poster.
Unexplodd ammo is everywhere,even here 90 years after the end of the first world warit is still being excavated on a weekly basis by farmers working the land .We have a long experience demining everwhere in the world adter handling unexploded shells at home .Currently in Lebanon demining is still being performed.It doesn't consist of looking for landmines but unexploded bomblets from cluster bombs used by Israel against the civil population during their lates invasion a few years ago .These bomblets are scattered almost everwhere and attract the curiosity of mainly small children always looking for things to play with ; being too young to have experience of danger ,they fall prey to these devices .it will take many more years before children will be able to play safely outside in some parts of Lebnon.Likewise in Cambodga,Shri Lanka,Mosambisue and every other theater of past conflicts landmines still cause mutilations to humans and animals on a regular basis.
It appears that when it comes to winnning battles the very cause those that wage those battles claim to defend is discarded,in the name of efficiency .A bit like torturing suspects in order to defend democracy.
'Unexplodd ammo is everywhere,even here 90 years after the end of the first world warit is still being excavated on a weekly basis by farmers working the land'
Do you think technology has progressed at all since WW1? Perhaps not in Belgium... Perhaps you are just mad that someone came and kicked the Germans out when you were collaborating so well.
Now if everyone would just lay down their arms, no soul would have to worry about the explosives children mistake for toys. Although, let us beware of the toys made in China.
The irony is pathetic.
To have a munition that can reach and destroy a military target, or to have many munitons, most of which will fail to have any military value and instead kill and maim civilians long after the orders to war have lapsed...?
One does EXACTLY what it should do with no waste, and the other is extremely wasteful and causes tragedy amongst the civilians.
or put it a different way
Is it better to have a good gun and aim at the target or better to close your eyes and just keep pulling the trigger while waving the gun about in the hope of hitting the bullseye?
War casualties rose exponentially from one conflict to the other until Hiroshima. Afterwards, it leveled off to about 1 millon per year.
Why?
No one wanted to have anymore big wars.
Some other facts.
No one has done more to prefect and deploy precision guided munitions, singly responsible for the reduction of collateral casualties in war today, than the United States.
No one has done more in establishing the multi-national security agreements now in place i.e. NATO, etc., than the USA, singly responsible for bringing sustained peace in the region for over 60 years.
No one has donemore to promote multi-lateral security agreements in the world than the United States.
So, while cluster munitions may be repugnant, they serve a purpose to dissuade those who would threaten the security of our partners and thereby save far more lives than they take.
page: 1
we should just outlaw disagreement hate and envyMay 31st, 2008 - 06:36:28
'But some of the bomblets fail to explode and for years after a conflict has ended can continue to pose a threat to civilians, especially children who often mistake the munitions for toys. '
American bomblets explode unless they have been tampered with. It would be pretty hard to confuse them with 'toys'.
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