March 26th 2003
From: davey garland <thunderelf@yahoo.co.uk> The Iraqis call it orange weather: some say
it is on
I know I’m not supposed to understand this,
so I won’t
Another farming community in Al Doraa also
reported an
Saad Shalash Aday is another farmer, from Al
Mahmoodia
Eight houses and four cars were destroyed and
cows,
“Is this democracy?” the men demanded to know,
At 9 this morning a group of caravans was hit
with
Rusol Ammar, a skinny ten year old girl with
startling
Her dad said something hit their street and
exploded.
Her dad asked the same question we’d heard
before. “Is
Dr Ahmed is Syrian but has lived and worked
27 years
Farms are not a legitimate target, even if
you want to
More than that though, more than the illegality
of it,
The internet connection is down today. I don’t
know
|
Afghanistan
Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2001 22:45:03 +0100
From: martin meissonnier <martinm@imaginet.fr>
BRITAIN and America hit back yesterday at the growing international
outcry over the use of cluster bombs and insisted that they would be
used again in Afghanistan if required.
Reacting to appeals from British and international charities to stop
their use, Paul Wolfowitz, the US Deputy Defence Secetary, was
uncompromising. "We lost somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000 people in a
single day. We are now being threatened with weapons that could kill
tens of thousands of people, and we are trying to avoid killing
innocent people, but we have to win this war and we will use the
weapons we need to win this war," he told The Sunday Telegraph.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence in London echoed the US
position. She said that the weapons were legal and used for specific
targets, such as armour or aircraft parked on a runway. "Before using
any weapon we assess which is best suited to the job," she said.
"Cluster bombs remain an effective weapon."
Her comments were condemned as "utter nonsense" by Richard Lloyd, head
of the Landmine Action charity, who led a chorus of British opposition
to the weapons. "What they are saying is hard to believe because they
really do know better than this," he said.
"The Government know that in Kosovo and the Gulf very few cluster
bombs hit their targets because they were blown off course. Add to
that the fact that a high proportion don't go off and effectively turn
into landmines."
The Rev William Beaver, spokesman for the Church of England, said that
many religious leaders were outraged that such an indiscriminate
weapon was being used.
"You will not win the hearts and minds of a people if, in your effort
to provide them with a better future, your real legacy is to be
associated with hidden deaths and hideous wounds for years to come,"
he said.
The British Red Cross called on America to suspend the use of cluster
bombs because they had proved so dangerous to civilians in Kosovo.
Christian Aid also joined the opposition, saying that the use of
cluster bombs contradicted America's stated intention to minimise
civilian casualties. "They are as dangerous as anti-personnel mines.
In fact in Kosovo more people were killed in the years after the
conflict by the bomblets left behind by cluster bombs than by
landmines," a spokesman said.
"We are told the attacks are targeted but cluster bombs cannot be
targeted in that way. Britain should be putting pressure on America to
stop using them."
Unlike "smart bombs", the weapons used in the Gulf War, Kosovo and now
Afghanistan to deliver a single bomb with pinpoint accuracy, cluster
bombs are by their nature imprecise and designed to hit targets spread
out over a wide area. They are dropped from heavy bombers or by
ground-attack aircraft and regarded by military experts as a valuable
weapon in attacking concentrations of troops, armour or artillery
found in the Taleban's frontline positions.
The US Air Force and the Royal Air Force have developed their own
design, but the concept of the cluster bomb remains the same as when
it was first used in combat during the Vietnam War.
Unlike "smart bombs", the weapons used in the Gulf War, Kosovo and now
Afghanistan to deliver a single bomb with pinpoint accuracy, cluster
bombs are by their nature imprecise and designed to hit targets spread
out over a wide area. They are dropped from heavy bombers or by
ground-attack aircraft and regarded by military experts as a valuable
weapon in attacking concentrations of troops, armour or artillery
found in the Taleban's frontline positions.
The US Air Force and the Royal Air Force have developed their own
design, but the concept of the cluster bomb remains the same as when
it was first used in combat during the Vietnam War.
The American CBU87 is loaded on to a warplane as a single unit that
looks like a large green pod. Inside the outer casing are about 200
individual bomblets, each the size of a can of soft drink and
containing various charges from high explosives to incendiary devices.
After the bomb is released the outer casing falls away above the
target and the bomblets rain down over a wide area. The higher the
altitude that the bomblets are released, the wider the target zone. A
single bomb is usually intended to hit an enemy spread over the area
of a football pitch.
As many as 10 per cent of the bomblets fail to explode and remain,
often half-buried, as a long-term threat to civilians. Children are
especially vulnerable since they are often attracted by the
harmless-looking and brightly coloured bomblets. In Kosovo the cluster
bombs were blamed for the deaths of 200 civilians and two British Army
bomb-disposal experts.
Cluster bombs have reportedly killed nine civilians in Afghanistan
near the western city of Herat and are blamed for trapping other
villagers too afraid to leave their homes.
Anti-mine organisations have been particularly critical of the use of
the weapons, because they are difficult and dangerous to clear. Two
British charities, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and
Landmine Action, appealed last week for a moratorium in the use of
cluster bombs.
the B2 bomber carries 8 GBU87
clusterbombs
From:
martin meissonnier <martinm@imaginet.fr>
Visie
foundation
Times Online October 29 2001
Allies defend cluster bombs
BRITAIN and America hit back yesterday at the growing international
outcry over the use of cluster bombs and insisted that they would be used
again in Afghanistan if required.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence in London echoed the US position. She said that the weapons were legal and used for specific targets, such as armour or aircraft parked on a runway. “Before using any weapon we assess which is best suited to the job,” she said. “Cluster bombs remain an effective weapon.” Her comments were condemned as “utter nonsense” by Richard Lloyd, head of the Landmine Action charity, who led a chorus of British opposition to the weapons. “What they are saying is hard to believe because they really do know better than this,” he said. “The Government know that in Kosovo and the Gulf very few cluster bombs hit their targets because they were blown off course. Add to that the fact that a high proportion don’t go off and effectively turn into landmines.” The Rev William Beaver, spokesman for the Church of England, said that many religious leaders were outraged that such an indiscriminate weapon was being used. “You will not win the hearts and minds of a people if, in your effort to provide them with a better future, your real legacy is to be associated with hidden deaths and hideous wounds for years to come,” he said. The British Red Cross called on America to suspend the use of cluster bombs because they had proved so dangerous to civilians in Kosovo. Christian Aid also joined the opposition, saying that the use of cluster bombs contradicted America’s stated intention to minimise civilian casualties. “They are as dangerous as anti-personnel mines. In fact in Kosovo more people were killed in the years after the conflict by the bomblets left behind by cluster bombs than by landmines,” a spokesman said. “We are told the attacks are targeted but cluster bombs cannot be targeted in that way. Britain should be putting pressure on America to stop using them.” Unlike “smart bombs”, the weapons used in the Gulf War, Kosovo and now Afghanistan to deliver a single bomb with pinpoint accuracy, cluster bombs are by their nature imprecise and designed to hit targets spread out over a wide area. They are dropped from heavy bombers or by ground-attack aircraft and regarded by military experts as a valuable weapon in attacking concentrations of troops, armour or artillery found in the Taleban’s frontline positions. The US Air Force and the Royal Air Force have developed their own design, but the concept of the cluster bomb remains the same as when it was first used in combat during the Vietnam War. The American CBU87 is loaded on to a warplane as a single unit that looks like a large green pod. Inside the outer casing are about 200 individual bomblets, each the size of a can of soft drink and containing various charges from high explosives to incendiary devices. After the bomb is released the outer casing falls away above the target and the bomblets rain down over a wide area. The higher the altitude that the bomblets are released, the wider the target zone. A single bomb is usually intended to hit an enemy spread over the area of a football pitch. As many as 10 per cent of the bomblets fail to explode and remain, often half-buried, as a long-term threat to civilians. Children are especially vulnerable since they are often attracted by the harmless-looking and brightly coloured bomblets. In Kosovo the cluster bombs were blamed for the deaths of 200 civilians and two British Army bomb-disposal experts. Cluster bombs have reportedly killed nine civilians in Afghanistan near the western city of Herat and are blamed for trapping other villagers too afraid to leave their homes. Anti-mine organisations have been particularly critical of the use of the weapons, because they are difficult and dangerous to clear. Two British charities, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and Landmine Action, appealed last week for a moratorium in the use of cluster bombs. They were joined on Friday by Handicap International. “Politicians must tell the military that they do not have the right to use arms they know have dramatic consequences against civilian populations, even after a conflict is over,” Philippe Chabasse, the group’s director, said. The appeal has won some backing in Europe. Nicole Fontaine, the President of the European Parliament, said that the bombs should be banned. The issue is likely to be raised at the United Nations, where Sweden is pressing for international action to regulate the use of cluster bombs. |