US open to negotiations on cluster bombs but no ban

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

GENEVA, June 18 (Reuters) - The United States supports launching negotiations on a global treaty to reduce civilian casualties from cluster bombs, but does not back a ban on the weapons, a U.S. official said on Monday.

Momentum has been building to prohibit cluster bombs, blamed for thousands of civilians casualties around the world, but states which are major producers of the weapons have resisted calls to halt their use.

The U.S. position was announced at the start of week-long talks in Geneva on the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), ratified by some 100 countries. It came after the Bush administration carried out an internal review of the issue.

"It was determined that the United States should support the initiation of a negotiation on cluster munitions within the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons," Ronald Bettauer, head of the U.S. delegation, told reporters.

Cluster bombs are air- or ground-launched canisters holding up to 650 munitions, which often fail to explode on impact. Designed for use against infantry and tanks, they sink into the ground or lie on the surface and become virtual landmines.

Read more: http://wap.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L18746601.htm

[krispos42]

1. We want to keep using them because they are very effective

Unfortunatly, somebody is doing a lousy job on the fuses. Failure rates of 12 to 23 percent are absolutely awful. Considering how much the damn things cost and how much work goes into them, it shouild be a hell of a lot higher.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_bomb

[maddezmom]

2. and we're a top manufacturer of them

:mad: