Congressional Report Says U.S. Cluster Bombs Are Failing "10% to 30%" Of The Time In Ukraine

American cluster munitions 

Business Insider: The US says the cluster bombs it's giving Ukraine fail less than 3% of the time. Experience suggests the real number is far higher. 

* The United States is providing Ukraine with cluster bombs it says have a failure rate of 2.35%. 

* But past use suggests "failure rates of 10% to 30%," according to a report prepared for Congress. 

* Cluster bombs that fail to explode can pose a risk to civilians for decades to come. 

The US claim that the cluster bombs it's sending to Ukraine have a failure rate of less than 3% is unlikely to hold up under real-world conditions, with past use of the widely-banned weapon suggesting as many as 3 in 10 fail to explode. 

At a press conference on Friday announcing the transfer, Colin Kahl, US undersecretary of defense for policy, said that the "dud" rate for US-provided 155-millimeter DPICMs, or dual-purpose improved conventional munitions, is just 2.35%. He compared it to the alleged failure rate for Russian cluster munitions of 30-40%.  

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WNU Editor: This US Congressional report may be critical of US cluster bombs, but this Ukrainian officer is happy to have them .... Cluster munitions proving exceptionally effective in battle — Ukrainian officer (The New Voice of Ukraine).  

Update: According to Newsweek Russia is improving their cluster bonbs .... Russia's Modified Cluster Bombs Could Change the Course of War (Newsweek).

Northrop Grumman Says It Will Not Build Cluster Bombs

Cluster bomb. Credit: Textron 

Defense One: Northrop Grumman Says It Will Walk Away From Cluster Bomb Contract 

The company's CEO says the decision is part of a move to "be thoughtful about potential human rights implications" of its products. 

Northrop Grumman said Thursday that it would walk away from a U.S. government cluster bomb contract as the company moves to distance itself from the deadly weapons commonly associated with civilian casualties. 

The contract involves the “testing of cluster munition components” and is “structured to help remove cluster munitions safely,” Northrop CEO Kathy Warden said on her company's quarterly earnings call on Thursday. 

The company does not make cluster munitions, which are air or ground-launched bombs that contain submunitions that spread indiscriminately over a wide area. Unexploded weapons from wars decades ago are still killing civilians. 

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WNU Editor: This means that there are now no US companies making cluster munitions. Textron, the last U.S. company to make cluster bombs, announced in 2016 that it would quit producing them​.

Pentagon Official: The U.S. Reversed Its Plan To Ban Cluster Bombs Last Year Because Of North Korea

A B-52 bomber drops cluster bombs over Afghanistan during the US invasion on October 7, 2001. Reuters/US Air Force file photo

Business Insider/Military.com: The US changed its mind about banning cluster bombs because of North Korea

The United States reversed its plan to ban cluster munitions last year and kept its dated stockpiles for one reason: North Korea, a top defense official said Friday.

"That policy change was driven by the North Korean situation," Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said.

"When we were going through our readiness exercise, we said, 'How do we prepare for North Korea?' And we looked at the munitions that are required and the munitions that were available," he said in response to questions during the annual Military Reporters & Editors conference outside Washington, DC.

Shanahan said developing a replacement for cluster bombs would take too long when faced with the North Korean threat, so the Pentagon looked to available capability.

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WNU Editor: Even if a peace treaty is signed with North Korea tomorrow, I have doubts that the U.S. will be willing to eliminate cluster munitions from its arsenal. Sadly .... there are just too many possible conflicts in the future where such a weapon may be necessary.

Pentagon Indefinitely Delays Ban On Cluster Bombs

CNN: US reverses plan to quit using its stock of older cluster bombs

Washington (CNN)The Pentagon will soon issue a new policy on cluster bombs, abandoning a previous plan that mandated the military ditch older versions of the controversial weapons by 2019, according to a copy of a Defense Department memorandum signed by Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and obtained by CNN.

"The Department will retain cluster munitions currently in active inventories until the capabilities they provide are replaced with enhanced and more reliable munitions," the memorandum said.

The memo called the weapons "an effective and necessary capability."

Cluster bombs -- which not only deliver an initial explosion on impact but also contain multiple smaller bombs that spread over a wide area -- are largely condemned by the international community due to the risk of civilian casualties when they're used in populated areas.

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More News On The Pentagon Indefinitely Delaying A Ban On Cluster Bombs

US Will Keep Older Cluster Munitions, a Weapon Banned by 102 Nations -- New York Times
The Trump administration cancels a plan to curtail the use of cluster bombs -- Washington Post
Pentagon calls off plan to ban use of cluster bombs -- The Hill
Pentagon decides against ban on use of certain cluster bombs -- Defense News/AP
U.S. military to indefinitely delay ban on cluster bombs -- Reuters
US military abandons plans to ditch cluster bombs despite their failed efforts to develop safer munitions -- Daily Mail
US delays ban on 'unsafe' cluster bombs -- BBC

Casualties From Cluster Bombs More Than Doubled In 2016

Cluster munition attacks on opposition-held areas of Syria have continued unabated, activists say

New York Times: Casualties From Cluster Bombs More Than Doubled Last Year, Treaty Monitor Says

Casualties from cluster munitions, internationally outlawed weapons that kill indiscriminately, more than doubled in 2016 compared with the previous year, a disarmament group that monitors their use reported on Thursday.

The group, the Cluster Munition Coalition, said nearly 1,000 people had been killed or injured by the bombs, which are banned by international treaty. Most of the increase was attributed to the six-and-a-half-year-old war in Syria, where use of cluster munitions by the military was documented early in the conflict and appeared to have escalated last year with Russia’s support.

Dozens of other deaths and injuries last year were attributed to the Saudi-led bombing of Yemen and lethal remnants buried in Laos from the intensive American bombing of that country during the Vietnam War era, the group said.

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Update #1: Casualties from cluster munitions doubled in 2016 (BBC)
Update #2: Report: Cluster Munitions in Syria, Yemen Increase Civilian Casualties (VOA)

WNU Editor: The Cluster Munition Coalition's report is here.

Saudi Arabia Admits Using Cluster Bombs In Yemen

Amnesty claims it found these UK-made cluster bombs in Yemen. BBC/Amnesty International

The Guardian: Saudi Arabia admits it used UK-made cluster bombs in Yemen

Confirmation by Saudi-led coalition raises pressure on UK government which has refused to curb arms sales to Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia has finally admitted that it used UK-manufactured cluster bombs against Houthi rebels in Yemen, increasing pressure on the British government which has repeatedly refused to curb arms sales to Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia said it would cease to use UK-manufactured cluster bombs and that it had informed the UK government of this decision.

Ahmed Asiri, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, said: “It has become apparent that there was limited use by the coalition of the UK-manufactured BL755 cluster munition in Yemen.”

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More News On Saudi Arabia Admiting That It Used Cluster Bombs In Yemen

Saudi military announces end of cluster bomb use in Yemen -- UPI
British cluster bombs used in Saudi Arabia’s Yemen campaign -- RT
UK-made cluster bombs used in Yemen, Michael Fallon confirms -- BBC
Saudi Arabia admitted using UK cluster bombs, Fallon to tell MPs -- The Guardian
Saudis confirm use of British cluster bombs in Yemen -- The Telegraph

Last U.S. Company Making Cluster Bombs Will Cease Production Due To Declining Demand

Washington Post: Why the last U.S. company making cluster bombs won’t produce them anymore

Textron, the last U.S. company to build cluster bombs, announced in a securities filing Tuesday that one of its subsidiaries would no longer produce the controversial and internationally derided munition, citing dwindling demand.

The Rhode Island-based company’s decision comes after the Obama administration halted a shipment of approximately 400 of their cluster weapons — called CBU-105s — to Saudi Arabia in May, following reports that the Saudis were using the weapons indiscriminately during their air campaign over Yemen.

Cluster munitions is a blanket term for a variety of weapons that distribute submunitions or bomblets over an area, often to destroy concentrations of troops and equipment or damage infrastructure such as roads and airfields. The United States first started widely using them during the Korean War and has used them in every major conflict since. The reason that many countries have banned their use is that the bomblets used in these attacks often fail to explode and go on to become highly volatile pieces of unexploded ordnance that kill and maim the civilians who encounter them.

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More News On The Last U.S. Company Making Cluster Bombs Ceasing Production

Last Remaining US Maker of Cluster Bombs Stops Production -- Foreign Policy
Last US cluster bomb manufacturer ends production -- RT
This American Company Is Finally Getting Out of the Cluster Bomb Business -- Mother Jones
Factbox: The deadly legacy of cluster bombs -- Reuters

U.S. Bans Cluster Bomb Sales To Saudi Arabia

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

VOA: Report: White House Suspends Cluster Bomb Transfers to Saudi Arabia

A leading U.S.-based foreign policy journal says the White House has quietly suspended the transfer of cluster bombs to ally Saudi Arabia, in response to the Sunni kingdom's aerial war against Shi'ite rebels in Yemen.

Foreign Policy magazine, in a news story published Friday, quoted an unnamed senior U.S. official as saying a hold was placed on such shipments following reports that the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi rebels used the controversial munitions in civilian areas.

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WNU Editor: It looks like the U.S. has accepted this Human Right Watch report .... Yemen: Saudis Using US Cluster Munitions (Human Rights Watch).

More News On The U.S. Banning Cluster Bomb Sales To Saudi Arabia

Exclusive: White House Blocks Transfer of Cluster Bombs to Saudi Arabia -- Foreign Policy
US Blocks Cluster-Bomb Sales To Saudis: Report -- Defense News/AFP
US stops supplying cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia over civilian harm fears -- IBTimes
Saudi Arabia: Cluster Bomb Shipments From U.S. Halted Due To Civilian Deaths In Yemen -- Inquisitr
US halts cluster bomb deliveries to Saudi Arabia amid growing civilian death toll in Yemen – report -- RT

Russia Using Cluster Bombs In Syria

Daily Mail: Incredible footage of Russians pounding Syrian rebels with 'cluster bombs' lighting up the sky with hundreds of explosions

* The video showed dozens of glowing red objects fired into the sky in Idlib
* 'Bombs' caused hundreds of small, violent explosions when they landed
* Human Rights Watch claimed to have evidence of Russian cluster bombs used in Aleppo
* Fears of an 'all-out proxy war' between Russia, which is targeting Assad's enemies, and US which air-dropped 50 tonnes of weapons for rebels

Dramatic footage claims to show Russian cluster bombs exploding over Syrian rebels in southern Idlib.

Published on YouTube yesterday, the video showed dozens of glowing, red bomblets being fired into the air from the ground.

It then cuts to show hundreds of small but violent explosions lighting up the landscape and sending plumes of smoke rising into the evening sky.

Update: Human Rights Group Blasts Putin for Using Cluster Bombs in Syria (Fiscal Times)

WNU Editor: Cluster bombs are very effective against enemy positions .... but it also causes large number of civilian casualties. These reports and videos also show that Russia is (and will) be operating under rules of engagement that the U.S. or NATO will not abide by.

Human Rights Watch: Ukraine Military Used Cluster Bombs In Eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian Military Accused Of Repeatedly Using Cluster Bomb Rockets Against Separatists -- Washington Post

The Ukrainian military has used cluster munitions numerous times in its conflict with pro-Russian separatists, likely scattering deadly bombs that did not immediately explode and putting civilians at risk, Human Rights Watch said in a new report.

An investigation earlier this month found that the weapons were used more than a dozen times in fighting in eastern Ukraine, Human Rights Watch reported. Dozens of countries, including the United States, agreed not to use cluster munitions in a treaty signed in 2008, citing the indiscriminate nature of the weapon. Ukraine has not signed the treaty.

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Human Rights Watch: Ukraine Military Used Cluster Bombs In Eastern Ukraine

Ukraine crisis: Army accused of using cluster bombs -- BBC
Cluster bombs used in eastern Ukraine, says human rights group -- The Guardian
Ukraine Used Cluster Bombs, Evidence Indicates -- NYT
Ukrainian troops 'used banned cluster bombs' on populated rebel cities, report claims -- The Telegraph
Human Rights Watch says Ukraine may have used cluster bombs -- Reuters
Ukraine Government Troops Used Cluster Bombs, Rights Group Says -- Bloomberg
Kiev govt used cluster munitions in populated zones in E. Ukraine – HRW -- RT
Watchdogs Allege Human Rights Violations, War Crimes in Ukraine -- VOA
Report: Ukraine military has used cluster bombs -- Deutsche Welle
Reports claim Ukraine used cluster bombs in Donetsk city -- UPI
Rights Group Accuses Kyiv Of Using Cluster Munitions -- Radio Free Europe

Update: Ukraine is denying these claims ....

Ukraine military denies using banned cluster bombs against rebels -- Al Jazeera
Ukraine Vows to Probe Banned 'Cluster Bomb' Charges -- Naharnet
Ukraine rejects claims of banned cluster bomb use -- Global Post/AFP
HRW Report on Use of Cluster Munitions by Kiev Lack Evidence: Ukrainian Foreign Ministry -- RIA Novosti

'Cast Ductile Iron Bomb Body' Is The New Weapon That Will Replace America's Inventory Of Cluster Bombs

An airman loads a Joint Direct Attack Munition bomb (U.S. Air Force)

Air Force Replaces Cluster Bombs With Something Slightly Less Likely To Kill Civilians -- James Drew, War Is Boring

New munitions rain down iron fragments.

The U.S. Air Force is developing a terrifying new weapon to replace cluster bombs.

Instead of scattering thousands of tiny bomblets over a target, the service plans to rain down iron fragments … to essentially achieve the same effect.

During the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, the United States and coalition forces dropped thousands of cluster bombs on targets including missile and radar sites, Iraqi aircraft, armored vehicles, artillery batteries and troops.

While effective, the cluster bombs often left behind thousands unexploded bomblets that killed many civilians.

Responding to international pressure, in 2008 then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ordered the services to phase out the procurement of cluster bombs—and stop using them completely after 2018.

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My Comment: Looked for more info on this development .... and aside from this article .... there is nothing. No videos/pictures .... nothing. Kudos to James Drew for posting this story .... no one else has and it is a weapon system that will have a profound impact on the battlefield.

Human Rights Watch: Syria Now Using Powerful Cluster Bombs On Civilian Targets

An unexploded 9N235 antipersonnel fragmentation submunition found in Keferzita in Syria. Each submunition contains 395 pre-formed fragments, some the mass of 9mm pistol bullets. © 2014 Private

New And More Powerful Cluster Munitions Used In Latest Attack On Civilians In Syria -- Cluster Munition Coalition

Syrian government forces are using new and more powerful cluster munitions not seen before in the conflict, adding to the civilian death toll and leaving a deadly legacy of unexploded ordnance according to a new report by Cluster Munition Coalition member, Human Rights Watch.

HRW reports that government forces used rockets containing explosive submunitions in attacks on Keferzita, in northern Syria, on February 12 and 13, 2014. These are the largest type of cluster munition rockets yet identified in Syria, more powerful and deadly than those previously used. An eyewitness who spoke to Human Rights Watch reported that at least two civilians were killed and least 10 others were wounded in the attacks last week.

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More News On HRW's Report On Cluster Bomb Use In Syria

HRW says Syria using powerful new cluster munitions -- Daily Star/AFP
Powerful new cluster bombs used in Syria: rights group -- Reuters
Syrian regime using ‘new cluster munitions’ -- Al Arabiya

My Comment: More misery on top of more misery in Syria.

The Case Against Cluster Bombs

A US-made M42 unexploded cluster bomb found in southern Lebanon after the Israel-Lebanon conflict. (UNMACC/IRIN)

A Cluster Bomb Killed My Father -- Foreign Policy

It's time to outlaw these dangerous weapons once and for all.

As he did most days when I was home from university, my dad came into my room at six in the morning and placed a cup of Turkish coffee on my bedside table. He had been awake for a couple of hours, and he was getting ready to head back into the orchard under our house, in Bhamdoun, a picturesque town overlooking Beirut, to water the trees.

I had planned a "cleanliness campaign" that day with our Friends of Nature Club at the village. We had started the club that year as part of a fledgling environmental movement in Lebanon, but in the days following the Israeli invasion of 1982 we turned our attention to clearing up the rubble and debris of the aerial bombing of the Israel Defense Forces.

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Russia Denies That Russian Made Cluster Bombs Are Being Used In Syria

Photo: This image provided by Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other reporting by the Associated Press, shows a portion of what Human Rights Watch says are cluster bombs dropped last Tuesday in Tamanea, Syria. Credit: Ugarit News via Human Rights Watch

FM Lavrov Denies Use of Russian-made Cluster Bombs in Syria -- RIA Novosti

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied information from the leading human rights organization that Syrian authorities used Russian-made cluster bombs against rebels.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said earlier that during the ongoing conflict in Syria Russian-made RBK-250 series cluster bomb canisters with AO-1SCh fragmentation bomblets were used by the government troops against the rebel forces.

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My Comment: The Russian foreign minister can deny all that he wants, but Human Rights Watch (see previous post) is building up an impressive photo dossier on Russian made cluster bomb fragments throughout Syria.

69 Countries Possess Cluster Bombs In Their Arsenal

Groups Say Cluster Bombs Remain In 69 Nations -- New York Times/AP

GENEVA (AP) — Cluster bombs, artillery shells and missiles are still stockpiled in 69 nations a year after they were banned by a new international law, a London-based coalition of 200 activist groups said Wednesday.

The London-based Cluster Munition Coalition's tally of these destructive explosive weapons came as diplomats gathered in Geneva to debate plans for phasing them out.

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More News On Cluster Bombs

Cluster bombs remain in 69 nations -- Herald Sun
Positive progress made by cluster munitions ban is jeopardised by weaker agreement between worst offenders -- Alertnet
Disarmament group slams US-led cluster bomb treaty -- AFP
ICRC comments on the draft protocol on cluster munitions and other issues for the CCW Review Conference. -- ICRC
The United States Aims Low on Cluster Munitions -- Steve Goose, Huffington Post
Convention on cluster munitions takes firm hold -- Cluster Munition Coalition

Derailing The Cluster Bomb Treaty

(Click Above Image to Enlarge)

Made In Mass., Bomb Stirs Global Debate -- Boston.com

Textron seeks to quash cluster munitions pact.

WASHINGTON - The Sensor Fuzed Weapon is a marvel of military technology, says its maker, Textron Defense Systems. An advanced “cluster bomb,’’ it is designed to spray 40 individual projectiles of molten copper, destroying enemy tanks across a 30-acre swath of battlefield.

But the bomb - which is made at a Textron facility in the Boston suburb of Wilmington - violates terms of a landmark international treaty limiting cluster bombs to 10 bomblets or less. The pending treaty, signed by 98 nations last year in Oslo, has been sought for decades by human rights groups, which say that cluster bombs kill indiscriminately and leave behind duds that kill or maim unsuspecting civilians.

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My Comment: The cluster bomb is a terrible weapon for the simple reason that it is terribly effective against armored trucks and vehicles. It is also cheaper to use than precision guided missiles, and it can also destroy a number of vehicles in one attack. Unfortunately, it is also terribly effective at killing civilians and children.

The first time that I saw a cluster bomblet, I was both amazed by its simplicity, and the need (for some reason) to pick it up. If I felt that need to pick it up, I am sure for children it is irresistible.

It is also irresistible for the military to have these weapons in their armories, and it is for this simple reason that a large number of countries will not sign this treaty .... the U.S. being one of many.

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”.

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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.