British Military Ex-Commanders Call For Action To Ban Cluster Bombs

From Times Online:

Military men call for action in a letter to The Times as 100 countries gather in Dublin to negotiate international treaty. Former British defence chiefs and military commanders are urging the Government to scrap its stock of cluster bombs because of the danger to civilians worldwide. As more than 100 countries gather in Dublin today to negotiate a new international treaty aimed at banning cluster munitions, the group of senior retired military figures has written to The Times and to Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, demanding that Britain's Armed Forces “move away from the use of indiscriminate...weapons which pose a threat to civilians and to our troops alike”.

Read more ....

Letter To The U.K. Government -- Cluster bombs don't work and must be banned

My Comment: The comment that stuck in my mind was the last paragraph of the story ...

Simon Conway, director of Landmine Action, said: “If Britain is to be a force for good in the world, the Government should totally ban these weapons - no exemptions, no loopholes.”

To be a force for good .... in other words to feel good .... we should all do this. Cluster bombs are most effective when used over a large area, the alternative to cluster bombs in a war situation are weapon systems far worse than cluster bombs. Like land mines, the movement to ban these weapons is now a political argument not a military one. The ultimate goal for all of these groups is to ban all weapon systems, but we all know (with the exception of those who are trying to ban these weapons) that this is not realistic. Will cluster bombs themselves be banned .... as long as there are enemies who wish to do us harm this will not proceed.