U.N. sees chance for global ban on cluster bombs
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The UNDP says cluster munitions have caused more than 13,000 confirmed injuries and deaths around the world, the vast majority of them in Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon.
Benjamin Chang, a spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said: "We are opposed to any ban on cluster munitions. We do not believe they are indiscriminate weapons."
So, Mr. Chang, does that mean 13,000 innocent civilians, many of whom were children, were meant to be killed or wounded?
The UNDP says cluster munitions have caused more than 13,000 confirmed injuries and deaths around the world, the vast majority of them in Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon.
Benjamin Chang, a spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said: "We are opposed to any ban on cluster munitions. We do not believe they are indiscriminate weapons."
So, Mr. Chang, does that mean 13,000 innocent civilians, many of whom were children, were meant to be killed or wounded?
I think those people should be sent over to the countries where they were dropped and pick them up.
We can start with all the people in our congress who voted for them on September 6, 2006 and that would include Hillary.
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and who do you think peddles them to our lawmakers in DC?
If you guessed "one of the 35,000 lobbyists in DC you guess correctly.
Aerojet
SADARM 155mm DPICM (sense and destroy armor): a 155 mm artillery
projectile can deliver two submunitions, while one of the MLRS rockets
can deliver six. The munition can also be fired from aircraft.
Raytheon
JSOW (Joint Standoff Weapon): a precision-guided weapon developed by the
US and its allies carrying submunitions or bomblets. The guidance system
allows the pilot to launch the weapon from a safe distance.
Textron
Sensor Fuzed Weapon (CBU 97/B): an air-launched anti-armor weapon system.
Each dispenser contains 10 BLU-108/B submunitions. Each submunition
carries 4 SKEET anti-armor warheads.
Wide Area Munitions (WAM) can be placed by hand, by ground vehicles,
rocket, or aircraft. "WAM, designated XM93, is a derivative of the Skeet
submunition that is used in the BLU-108/B submunition...it can be
dispensed quickly above ground over a wide area."
Companies are making and trying to market new cluster weapons all the
time. In vivid military jargon, Textron's promotional flier describes the
CLAW-Clean Lightweight Area Weapon, which they describe as "the next
generation smart soft target munition." For those not familiar with the
jargon, a soft target is a person. Textron boats that a "single 64 pound
munition has the footprint and effectiveness of a 1,000lb legacy cluster
bomb."
According to Human Rights Watch, other manufacturers of cluster weapons and
components include: General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin
and Northrop Grumman.