US Lawmakers Vote To Restrict Export Of Some Cluster Bombs
RTT News
12/18/2007 11:36:58 PM

US lawmakers on Tuesday voted to restrict the export of a type of cluster bomb that has been responsible for the indiscriminate killing of thousands of civilians worldwide.

The legislation bans export of some cluster bombs that open up in flight and typically scatter hundreds of small bomblets across a wide area.

Some of the bomblets fail to explode immediately and can cause death or maim victims if disturbed, often years after a conflict ends. It has been reported that the victims are mainly children.

The new measure, included in a budget bill being sent to President Bush for his assent, would ban transfer only of cluster bombs that leave more than 1 percent of their munitions unexploded. Export of those would be banned, either as military aid or as sales.

Israel is believed to have dropped an estimated 4 million bomblets in southern Lebanon during its war with the Hezbollah guerrillas last year, and an estimated 1 million did not explode.

http://www.rttnews.com/FOREX/gblnews.asp?date=12/18/2007&item=17