The Case Against Cluster Bombs

A US-made M42 unexploded cluster bomb found in southern Lebanon after the Israel-Lebanon conflict. (UNMACC/IRIN)

A Cluster Bomb Killed My Father -- Foreign Policy

It's time to outlaw these dangerous weapons once and for all.

As he did most days when I was home from university, my dad came into my room at six in the morning and placed a cup of Turkish coffee on my bedside table. He had been awake for a couple of hours, and he was getting ready to head back into the orchard under our house, in Bhamdoun, a picturesque town overlooking Beirut, to water the trees.

I had planned a "cleanliness campaign" that day with our Friends of Nature Club at the village. We had started the club that year as part of a fledgling environmental movement in Lebanon, but in the days following the Israeli invasion of 1982 we turned our attention to clearing up the rubble and debris of the aerial bombing of the Israel Defense Forces.

Read more ....

Russia Denies That Russian Made Cluster Bombs Are Being Used In Syria

Photo: This image provided by Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other reporting by the Associated Press, shows a portion of what Human Rights Watch says are cluster bombs dropped last Tuesday in Tamanea, Syria. Credit: Ugarit News via Human Rights Watch

FM Lavrov Denies Use of Russian-made Cluster Bombs in Syria -- RIA Novosti

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied information from the leading human rights organization that Syrian authorities used Russian-made cluster bombs against rebels.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said earlier that during the ongoing conflict in Syria Russian-made RBK-250 series cluster bomb canisters with AO-1SCh fragmentation bomblets were used by the government troops against the rebel forces.

Read more ....

My Comment: The Russian foreign minister can deny all that he wants, but Human Rights Watch (see previous post) is building up an impressive photo dossier on Russian made cluster bomb fragments throughout Syria.

Derailing The Cluster Bomb Treaty

(Click Above Image to Enlarge)

Made In Mass., Bomb Stirs Global Debate -- Boston.com

Textron seeks to quash cluster munitions pact.

WASHINGTON - The Sensor Fuzed Weapon is a marvel of military technology, says its maker, Textron Defense Systems. An advanced “cluster bomb,’’ it is designed to spray 40 individual projectiles of molten copper, destroying enemy tanks across a 30-acre swath of battlefield.

But the bomb - which is made at a Textron facility in the Boston suburb of Wilmington - violates terms of a landmark international treaty limiting cluster bombs to 10 bomblets or less. The pending treaty, signed by 98 nations last year in Oslo, has been sought for decades by human rights groups, which say that cluster bombs kill indiscriminately and leave behind duds that kill or maim unsuspecting civilians.

Read more ....

My Comment: The cluster bomb is a terrible weapon for the simple reason that it is terribly effective against armored trucks and vehicles. It is also cheaper to use than precision guided missiles, and it can also destroy a number of vehicles in one attack. Unfortunately, it is also terribly effective at killing civilians and children.

The first time that I saw a cluster bomblet, I was both amazed by its simplicity, and the need (for some reason) to pick it up. If I felt that need to pick it up, I am sure for children it is irresistible.

It is also irresistible for the military to have these weapons in their armories, and it is for this simple reason that a large number of countries will not sign this treaty .... the U.S. being one of many.