Becuase Everything Else Sucks

Clusta’ Crimes

By Manila Ryce
Published Wednesday, September 13th, 2006, 12:46 am
Filed under: Human Rights, World: Asia, War, World Issues, Society/Culture, US Politics

Yesterday the head of the Israeli Army rocket unit said that the Israeli army dropped at least 1.2 million cluster bomblets over Lebanon. The commander added that, “what we did is insane and monstrous”. An Israeli paper also reported that army artillery units testified during a war inquiry that phosphorous shells, which are banned by international law, were also used. Most of the shells were fired in the last ten days of Israeli aggression. This echoes concerns made last month about cluster bombs by the UN’s humanitarian chief who said that, “90 percent of the cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict when we knew there would be a resolution, when we knew there would be an end”. The commander also confirmed that MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) platforms were heavily used, even though it is known that they are highly inaccurate. The MRLS is capable of firing a high volume of mostly unguided munitions.

Cluster bombs, manufactured mainly in the United States and in Israel, are small bombs that splinter into many pieces, raining shrapnel upon an area 2-3 kilometers from where the bomb hits. For this reason, cluster bombs disproportionately impact civilian populations.

Since the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire was declared on August 14th, about 20 Lebanese civilians, including children, were killed by unexploded cluster bombs left by the Israeli military after their 34-day invasion of Lebanon. During the war, over 1,000 Lebanese civilians were killed, many of them by cluster bombs. The number of casualties by cluster bombs increased significantly in the last part of the war, when a U.S. rush shipment of weaponry, including cluster bombs, was sent to Israel.

The UN has estimated that around 40 percent of the munitions fired on Lebanon were cluster bombs. Because a high percentage of them do not detonate on impact, they effectively litter the landscape with thousands of land mines which claim lives long after the war is over. It’s believed that around 500,000 unexploded munitions are currently on the ground in Lebanon. The nations of Austria, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden, and the Vatican have already called upon the UN to add cluster bombs to their list of internationally-banned weapons.

source

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4 Responses to “Clusta’ Crimes”

  1. Anyone heard of the MINI-NUKE campaign?

    The Bush Administration had petitioned NASA (Which really has nothing to do with Space exploration, but is really a dummy front for a ballistic weapons think tank and money laundering.) to develop “mini-nukes.”

    These are nuclear bombs that are “smaller” than the big warheads stationed around the world. It has been reported that these weapons are used only by a select grouping of covert personel and have been used in Iraq already.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if Israel has this technology as well.

    yazo
    09/13/06 at 5:01 pm

  2. @yazo
    wow…. i am feeling so much better now! thanks

    DarkAngelJG
    09/14/06 at 2:19 am

  3. […] “We know that [Israel] drenched southern Lebanon with cluster bombs in the last 72 hours of the war, leaving tens of thousands of bomblets which are still killing Lebanese civilians every week,” reads the article. “And we now know - after it first categorically denied using such munitions - that the Israeli army also used phosphorous bombs, weapons which are supposed to be restricted under the third protocol of the Geneva Conventions, which neither Israel nor the United States have signed.” If the use of uranium is confirmed it would be the third controversial weapon used by Israel in the 34-day war against Lebanon, and viewed as another crime against humanity by the international community. […]

    The Largest Minority » Blog Archive » Did Israel Use Uranium Weapons in Lebanon?
    10/29/06 at 6:51 am

  4. […] Today, in the heaviest show of aerial power since the August 14th ceasefire, Israeli warplanes staged another unprovoked mock raid over southern Beirut. The fighter jets dived down at least six times at low altitude over the suburbs to further instill fear over people recovering from the trauma of the 34-day war. Since the war which killed over 1,200 Lebanese people, Israel has admitted to using cluster bombs and white phosphorous, and been accused of using uranium tipped missiles. Israeli flyovers are not only a violation of UN resolution 1701, but a common occurrence since the end of the war. […]

    The Largest Minority » Blog Archive » Israel Stages Largest Mock Raid Over Beirut Since 34-Day War
    10/31/06 at 7:59 pm

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