Cluster Bomb Ban Treaty: US, China, Russia, India, Israel Oppose It…
A landmark treaty banning cluster bombs was formally adopted at Dublin on Friday by 111 nations, including many of America’s major NATO partners. It aims to outlaw all current designs of cluster munitions, and requires destruction of stockpiles within eight years, reports AP.
The treaty also opens the possibility that European allies could order U.S. bases located in their countries to remove cluster bombs from their stocks.
“The United States and other leading cluster bomb makers — Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan — boycotted the talks, emphasized they would not sign the treaty and publicly shrugged off its value. All defended the overriding military value of cluster bombs, which carpet a battlefield with dozens to hundreds of explosions.
“But treaty backers — who long have sought a ban because cluster bombs leave behind ‘duds’ that later maim or kill civilians — insisted they had made it too politically painful for any country to use the weapons again…”
Here is additional information about cluster bombs…
5 Responses to “Cluster Bomb Ban Treaty: US, China, Russia, India, Israel Oppose It…”
Despite their obvious military advantages, cluster munitions create extremely hostile no-mans-lands that pose a continuing risk to civlians. My cousin once had the nervewracking job of doing explosive ordinance disposal and said they are some of the meanest things out there, even approaching them from the wrong angle of sunlight and they could detonate. I've seen enough of pictures of little kids with limbs blown off.
What the hell has happened to us?
“What the hell has happened to us? “
I ask the same question, dailyl.
We can add it to our land mine treaty position.
It is interesting that the most powerful secure nation in the world seems to think it's about to go under at any moment without every military option available to it.
Cluster bomb is a propoganda term. The banning of cluster bombs would eliminate most of the indirect fire weapons that the U.S. Army uses. To hit a moving target at a distance requires putting a plane in the air to guide the munition or using submunitions.
Why should the U.S. give up the MLRS, ATAMCS, SADDARM, PGM, etc just because a country like Belgium does not like the U.S. and Isreal?