punditman says...
Okay, eighty countries have cluster bomb arsenals. That fact alone is kind of depressing and makes you want to become a clown or something. Never mind. But look at the bright side: at least these nations went to the cluster bomb conference.
This insidious weapon, known as the "cluster bomb," was first used by the German Luftwaffe on the English town of Grimsby in 1943. Unfortunately, it has been deployed many times since, in many wars, most recently by the US air force in Iraq.
These weapons keep killing and maiming children, even years after a conflict is over. As the article notes, the usual suspect nations were absent from the conference. Are you surprised? Punditman is not surprised. Read on.
BERLIN (AFP) — Delegates from over 80 countries pledging to destroy their cluster bombs started a two-day conference in Berlin to assess progress since a 2008 agreement banning the weapons.
Absent however were the United States, Israel, Russia and Georgia -- countries which have used cluster bombs in recent years and which refuse to sign up the agreement. China, India and Pakistan also stayed away.
A cluster bomb is a weapon fired by artillery or dropped by aircraft that splits open and scatters multiple -- often hundreds -- of smaller submunitions, or bomblets, over a large area.
Keep Reading...
Okay, eighty countries have cluster bomb arsenals. That fact alone is kind of depressing and makes you want to become a clown or something. Never mind. But look at the bright side: at least these nations went to the cluster bomb conference.
This insidious weapon, known as the "cluster bomb," was first used by the German Luftwaffe on the English town of Grimsby in 1943. Unfortunately, it has been deployed many times since, in many wars, most recently by the US air force in Iraq.
These weapons keep killing and maiming children, even years after a conflict is over. As the article notes, the usual suspect nations were absent from the conference. Are you surprised? Punditman is not surprised. Read on.
BERLIN (AFP) — Delegates from over 80 countries pledging to destroy their cluster bombs started a two-day conference in Berlin to assess progress since a 2008 agreement banning the weapons.
Absent however were the United States, Israel, Russia and Georgia -- countries which have used cluster bombs in recent years and which refuse to sign up the agreement. China, India and Pakistan also stayed away.
A cluster bomb is a weapon fired by artillery or dropped by aircraft that splits open and scatters multiple -- often hundreds -- of smaller submunitions, or bomblets, over a large area.
Keep Reading...
