Libya: NATO Running Short of Some Arms

Senior U.S. and NATO officials reported Friday that the alliance is running out of some bombs in Libya—which could mean the U.S. may have to return to the conflict. After the U.S. commandeered the early part of the Libyan air strikes, NATO—led by Britain and France—has since taken over the campaign at the U.S.'s urging. But despite the intense support by British and French leaders for the campaign, the lack of munitions, including precision bombs and aircraft, shows their limitations. NATO commanders have not asked the U.S. to come back, but NATO officials admitted they can't keep up with the pace of the bombing. Meanwhile on the ground, rebels and Human Rights Watch reported that Col. Muammar Gaddafi's troops had used cluster bombs against civilians.

Read it at The Washington Post

Billions of Deadly Cluster Bomblets Remain

Cluster Bombs
Pepe Escobar, The Real News Network

Cluster bombs are literally hell from above. Anyone who has seen the effects of cluster carpet bombing on innocent civilians - in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, and in the 60s and 70s in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam - cannot help to be horrified. A cluster bomb is a canister that opens in mid-air and eject hundreds of "bomblets" across an area of more or less two football fields. These bomblets are little metal balls - as powerful as a hand grenade. When these bomblets explode, there’s a rain of jagged shrapnel. When they explode on the ground with a time delay they kill or maim anyone on a radius of 10 to 15 meters. But as many as 1 in 4 of these bomblets never explode. The place where they fall becomes a minefield. And the victims, afterwards, stepping over them, are in most cases, children. Diplomats from 111 nations, meeting in Dublin, have just agreed on a landmark treaty banning cluster bombs. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, urged everyone to sign the treaty, I quote, “without delay”. It goes into effect by mid-2009. Who did not agree – and who won’t sign? The biggest producers – and users – of cluster bombs. Israel, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and the number one producer and user, the United States. The US did not even attend the meeting in Dublin.

Here We Go Again

FirstPost.co.uk

What Goes Around Comes Around
The sky is dark with chickens coming home to roost. America is in a terrible fix. But you wouldn’t know it from the politicians.

78 Millions Cluster Bombs Remain in Laos

During the Vietnam war, the US illegally bombed Laos as part of a secret war to disrupt Vietcong supply routes. 30 years later, 78 million unexploded cluster bombs remain scattered across the country, placing thousands at risk of death or injury every day. 111 countries gathered in Dublin this week to adopt a treaty banning cluster bombs. 5 countries- the US, Russia, Israel, India and Pakistan- were notable in their absence.