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WORD COUNT
651
NOVEMBER 28, 2007
UNFRIENDLY FIRE:
CLUSTER BOMBS KEEP KILLING – by Frida Berrigan
Jesus Suarez del
Solar died instantly. The Lance Corporal was an early casualty of the
U.S. war in Iraq, but he was not killed by enemy fire.
The 20-year-old
stepped on our own unexploded ordnance on March 27, 2003. It is likely
that the bomblet that killed Jesus was just one of thousands that the
United States scattered in the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Air Force dropped cluster bombs where he was patrolling just days
before, and these deadly weapons leave behind tens or hundreds of
thousands of unexploded bomblets which can be detonated days or even
years later.
During 2003, the U.S.
dropped or fired nearly 11,000 cluster bombs. These may have accounted
for well over 200,000 individual bomblets. Although varied in size and
configuration, a cluster munition is essentially a large canister-as
long as 13 feet and weighing up to 1,000 pounds-packed with little
exlosives. Designed to break open in mid-air, Its bomblets disperse over
areas as large as two or three football fields. The bomblets-a single
canister holds hundreds- range in size from the equivalent of a soda can
down to a flashlight battery, and each is filledwith shrapnel and an
explosive charge.
Cluster bombs are
intended to explode on impact. But, according to independent and
military analyses, failure rates range from 5 to 15 percent. In the
field, the rate can climb as high as 40 percent when the submunition is
buffeted by wind or rain, falls on uneven or soft terrain or encounters
other environmental factors. This means that every cluster bomb attack
leaves large numbers of dangerous unexploded bomblets.
A 2006 Handicap
International report estimated that nearly 3,000 Iraqis have been
victims of cluster bombs since 2003. The report goes on to fault U.S.
and Iraqi officials for failing to adequately track unexploded ordnance
casualties.
Even without that
tracking, one thing is clear-- the number of cluster bomb-related deaths
will continue to rise. The United States' use of them in Iraq exposes
civilians to decades of danger.
A closer look at
Cambodia-where the U.S. dropped cluster bombs extensively between 1969
and 1973-- forecasts a grim future. That war is long over, but the
weapons still kill. In 2005, three Cambodian boys were playing with
steel balls. The balls were thirty year old BLU-63s, some of tens of
thousands dropped on their country long before they were born. The
bomblets exploded. One boy died of massive abdominal injuries, and the
two other boys were seriously injured. Handicap International asserts
that over the last 40 years, in former warzones throughout the world,
civilians have accounted for 98% of cluster bomb casualties.
But, civilians are
not the only ones in danger. Like Jesus, U.S. service men and women are
threatened. A USA Today report estimated at the end of 2003 that at
least eight U.S. soldiers had been killed by unexploded bomblets. But,
the Pentagon does not track cluster bomb casualties among U.S. soldiers,
making it almost impossible to update or confirm these figures.
As one of the world's
top manufacturers of cluster weapons, the United States should be
leading the efforts to protect its own soldiers and civilians from these
deadly little weapons. Eighty-two countries are now working together on
an international agreement to ban cluster munitions, and the United
States should be at the table.
The Bush
Administration has so far refused to join the negotiations; but, there
is some good news. The Senate passed a one-year de facto moratorium on
the export of cluster bombs in September. This crucial first step must
be followed with more concrete action-like the Cluster Munitions
Civilian Protection Act which is now gathering co-sponsors.
Passage of this bill
would be a fitting tribute to Lance Corporal Jesus Suarez del Solar and
other servicemen and women killed by our own bombs, and would help
ensure that forty years from now children can safely play where war once
raged.
--
Frida Berrigan is a
Senior Program Associate at the New America Foundation's Arms and
Security Project. --
www.newamerica.net. A photo of Frida Berrigan is available
CLICK HERE
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