The report from New York that Hezbollah may have used a cluster bomb during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon underlines the urgent need to banish these inhumane weapons for once and for all.
Israeli, with the backing of the United States, rained as many as four million of these extremely nasty “bomblets” on Lebanon during their invasion – and many of them were “duds” which didn’t explode on impact. They could explode days, weeks, months or years later. The little bomblets, often in colourful jackets, are very attractive to young children.
That’s why international human rights advocates say “drop now, kill later”.
Cluster bombs are like aerial land mines. Land mines are now recognized internationally as illegal and against the conduct of civilized countries – though far too many countries still deploy land mines.
It was immoral and wrong for Hezbollah to deploy the cluster bomb. It is immoral and wrong for Israel, with its U.S. backers, to deploy four million of those bombs.
- Michael
