U.S. & Russia refuse to sign cluster bomb ban

[Silence]

92 nations sign cluster-bomb ban; US, Russia don't - Yahoo! News

OSLO, Norway – An Afghan teenager who lost both legs in a cluster bomb explosion helped persuade his country to change its stance and join nearly 100 nations in signing a treaty Wednesday banning the disputed weapons.

Afghanistan was initially reluctant to join the pact — which the United States and Russia have refused to support — but agreed to after lobbying by victims maimed by cluster munitions, including 17-year-old Soraj Ghulan Habib.

[snip]

The U.S., Russia and other countries refusing to sign the treaty say cluster bombs have legitimate military uses, such as repelling advancing troop columns.

Cluster bomblets are packed by the hundreds into artillery shells, bombs or missiles, which scatter them over vast areas. Some fail to explode immediately. The unexploded bomblets can then lie dormant for years until they are disturbed, often by children attracted by their small size and bright colors

The group Handicap International says 98 percent of cluster-bomb victims are civilians, and 27 percent are children.

how special....we're right in light with Russia

 

[Xenophon]

Would you prefer high explosives that obliterate the target?

There is no such thing as a 'nice' munition.

 

[Silence]

Would you prefer high explosives that obliterate the target?

There is no such thing as a 'nice' munition.

I would perfer that the U.S. not be in favor of bombs which apparently are a danger to civilians and children in particular.

 

[DiveCon]

I would perfer that the U.S. not be in favor of bombs which apparently are a danger to civilians and children in particular.

war sucks

but like he said, they have their uses

 

[Silence]

war sucks

but like he said, they have their uses

so do IEDs....do we support the use of those too?

 

[DiveCon]

so do IEDs....do we support the use of those too?

they dont meet our needs

 

[DavidS]

so do IEDs....do we support the use of those too?

You mean land mines? When did we start using the terms IED (land mind) and RPG (bazooka)? We've been using these weapons for decades against our enemies.

 

[Shogun]

Would you prefer high explosives that obliterate the target?

There is no such thing as a 'nice' munition.

which is why we still lay fucking LANDMINES, eh?

 

[DiveCon]

You mean land mines? When did we start using the terms IED (land mind) and RPG (bazooka)? We've been using these weapons for decades against our enemies.

well, an IED isnt exactly a landmine
similar, but not the same

 

[Silence]

they dont meet our needs

but cluster bombs do....

I just think it's speaks to our refusal to stand with the other nations in ending this type of hostility. If 92 nations, including Afghanistan support this ban why can't the U.S.? There have to be alternatives that could be used instead of bombs which harm children.

 

[DiveCon]

which is why we still lay fucking LANDMINES, eh?

they serve a different purpose
landmines are to deny access to an area, cluster bombs function to remove an entrenched enemy from an area

 

[Shogun]

war sucks

but like he said, they have their uses

well.. then so does mustard gas, yes? Would you sacrifice a single American soldier to search a village of enemies when you could just gas them all and pick through the bodies?

 

[DiveCon]

but cluster bombs do....

I just think it's speaks to our refusal to stand with the other nations in ending this type of hostility. If 92 nations, including Afghanistan support this ban why can't the U.S.? There have to be alternatives that could be used instead of bombs which harm children.

thats why they are making them better
if you knew what you wewre talking about on this subject, you would understand why a blanket ban on a type of munition isnt always the answer

 

[Silence]

well, an IED isnt exactly a landmine
similar, but not the same

exactly. I don't agree with landmines either but I wasn't referring to them

Improvised explosive device - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Shogun]

they serve a different purpose
landmines are to deny access to an area, cluster bombs function to remove an entrenched enemy from an area

and yet civilians still get blown the fuck up decades after they were laid...

 

[DiveCon]

well.. then so does mustard gas, yes? Would you sacrifice a single American soldier to search a village of enemies when you could just gas them all and pick through the bodies?

again, it doesnt serve the purpose

 

[Shogun]

thats why they are making them better
if you knew what you wewre talking about on this subject, you would understand why a blanket ban on a type of munition isnt always the answer

oh ok.. so we shouldn't blanket ban chemical weapons then? I mean, THEY HAVE THEIR USES, right? Who cares HOW the enemy dies as long as they die, yes?

 

[DiveCon]

and yet civilians still get blown the fuck up decades after they were laid...

ok, you also dont know what you are talking about
but do continue to show everyone how clueless you are

 

[DiveCon]

oh ok.. so we shouldn't blanket ban chemical weapons then? I mean, THEY HAVE THEIR USES, right? Who cares HOW the enemy dies as long as they die, yes?

no, chemical weapons do NOT have their purpose

 

[Shogun]

again, it doesnt serve the purpose

sure it does. Not a single Marine who goes door to door needs to worry about an IED if we just gas the entire city population. YOU don't want to admit the application because it shits all over your position on cluster bombs but it's there.