...

Israel Asks U.S. to Ship Rockets With Wide Blast. Your weapons of mass destruction order has shipped.

Israel has long told American officials that it wanted M-26 rockets for use against conventional armies in case Israel was invaded, one of the American officials said. But after being pressed in recent days on what they intended to use the weapons for, Israeli officials disclosed that they planned to use them against rocket sites in Lebanon. It was this prospect that raised the intense concerns over civilian casualties.

[snip]
State Department officials “are discussing whether or not there needs to be a block on this sale because of the past history and because of the current circumstances,” said the senior official, adding that it was likely that Israel will get the rockets, but will be told to be “be careful.”

Human Rights Watch reported that Israel has already used these weapons in populated areas of Lebanon.

These weapons continue to inflict civilian casualties long after the end of armed conflict. The effects of cluster weapons as well as the controversy surrounding them are described here (Flash required).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *