Speak Up Against Cluster Bombs

Marian Schmidt
Morning Sentinal
9 Novermber, 2007

Did you know that civilians, not military personnel, have accounted for 98 percent of casualties due to cluster bombs over the past 40 years?

In the last 15 years, U.S.-made cluster bombs have been used in civilian-populated areas in Afghanistan, Iraq, the former Yugoslavia, and Lebanon. These deadly bombs disperse smaller "bomblets" that are designed to kill all living creatures within a specific area that is often as large as several football fields. Many of these bomblets, from 5 to 25 percent, fail to detonate and form de facto minefields with devastating and long-lasting effect. Cluster bombs the U.S. dropped 40 years ago in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are still killing people today, and children are often the victims. In Southeast Asia at least 60 percent of the casualties of unexploded cluster munitions are children.

There is urgent legislation pending in the Senate and House, the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act. This common-sense bill prevents the U.S. military from using cluster bombs in areas where civilians are known to be present or have a bomblet failure rate of more then 1 percent. Please urge Sens. Collins and Snowe and Reps. Allen and Michaud to take a stand by co-sponsoring this legislation. By combining our voices, we can help ensure that U.S. cluster weapons aren't used near civilians and don't continue killing after conflict ends.