Before I go any further, I need to go on the record as having a strong dislike of cluster bomb and landmine use by various military and paramilitary forces. These weapons end up killing more civilians than the enemy that they were being used against, years later, long after peace has been declared.
Cluster bombs have again been in the news since it was learned that Washington was looking into the Israeli use of American-built cluster bombs on civilian areas in southern Lebanon. It was understood that these weapons were to be used against defined military targets and invading Arab armies.
Hundreds of American cluster bomblets have been spotted littering the southern Lebanese ground; three Lebanese soldiers died last week while disarming an unexploded shell. One Israeli soldier died while removing a mine that was planted by his army the same day. And civilians are dying, too.
A cluster bomb works by bursting in the air above a target and scattering hundreds of bomblets over a wide area. The bomblets fall on and around the target and explode. The results are devastating.
The weapons have become very controversial since up to 30% of the bomblets don't explode on contact, it turns them into deadly landmines where they impact. Cluster bombs were extensively used against Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq, and the after-effects are continuing to take a toll on civilians, soldiers and especially children who pick up the bomblets, thinking they're toys.
There needs to be an international moratorium on producing and using these weapons. In their current form, they endanger more civilians over the long haul than they do enemy soldiers.
No comments:
Post a Comment