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Cluster Bombs…The Hidden Dangers
By Wagdy A. Sawahel 26/11/2001
The United States has used cluster bombs during bombing missions in Afghanistan. The modern cluster bomb dates back to the 1960s. It consists of a canister that breaks apart to release a large number of small bombs. A range of so-called "bomblets" can then be employed to attack different targets such as armored vehicles or people - or to start fires.
The 202 bomblets are yellow cylinders about the size of a drink can - eight inches long and two and a half inches across (20 x 6 cm.). As they fall, they deploy inflatable tailpieces for stability and to make sure they descend nose-down. The area covered by the bomblets depends on the spin rate and opening height of the weapon. Typically, they might cover an area about 650 by 1,300 feet (200 by 400 m.) - about the size of eight football fields. When they explode, the bomblets cause damage and injury across a wide area. The explosive charge is capable of piercing armor to a depth of about seven inches (17 cm.). The blast has a radius of as much as 250 feet (76 m.). One variety of cluster bomb has heat-seeking bomblets, which direct themselves at vehicles. Others are used to scatter landmines (Cumming).
The bomblets are meant to explode on contact with the ground, but some weapons experts say an average of one in ten do not detonate and can lie undetected for years. In other words, many do not explode but litter the ground like landmines with the potential to explode years later.
Cluster bombs were first used by the U.S. in the Vietnam War, and many unexploded bomblets remain a threat today across the three countries of Indochina. The Pentagon estimates suggest that some 285 million sub munitions were dropped on Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Cluster bombs were also used widely in the Gulf War and in the air war over Kosovo in 1999, where mine clearing groups say thousands of live bomblets still litter the ground (CNN).
These cluster bomb "landmines" then present a long-term hazard to civilians trying to return to their homes of farmland. However, in the current situation, they also pose an immediate threat to civilians still in Afghanistan. The ongoing U.S.-led air strikes against Afghanistan are using yellow-colored cluster bomb units that are shaped like a soft drink can and packed with powerful explosives. The food aid packages, known as Humanitarian Daily Rations, were also square and covered in yellow plastic. To the Afghans, these two "packages" look similar. As a result, some unexploded bombs are being picked up by starving Afghani people who think they are picking up rations package (BBC).
The U.S. finally decided to change the color of the food-packet to blue but almost a hundred thousand yellow food packets have already been dropped in Afghanistan.
Furthermore, as bomblets are brightly colored and the size of a drinks can, they are particularly attractive to children. During the Russian occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, the Soviet Union used to drop bombs shaped like butterflies or children's toys.
In addition, cluster bombs can cover a large area but do not have precision guidance. If they are dropped from a medium to high altitude, they can wander considerably off target (Pearce). This means that cluster bombs used in this way fail to distinguish between soldiers and civilians, which is in clear breach of International humanitarian law. Furthermore, they are far less reliable than their makers suggest, especially when dropped from higher altitudes.
Air warfare experts insist that the bombs still have a useful role to play, especially in a full-scale war. But the very limited nature of many recent conflicts has led many Western air forces to seek more accurate, less indiscriminate weapons, which would be less likely to present a continuing danger once the fighting is over. However, both the U.S. and the U.K. have rejected calls for them to abandon use of cluster bombs saying they are the only effective way of dealing with particular threats such as those posed by armored vehicles (BBC).
In Afghanistan , however, the danger of landmines is even more severe than it is in other countries. This is because the country is already littered with millions of land mines from previous conflicts. In addition, since some of the mines look like toys or food packages, this increases the risk of civilian casualties.
The use of cluster bombs during the Soviet occupation, the planting of mines without mapping the region by the
mujahideen groups, and the ongoing civil war between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance makes any real estimation of mine statistics impossible. The U.N. estimates that more than 10 million unexploded mines or bombs remain in Afghanistan, and recent reports suggest as many as 15 million mines. Most of these mines are in high priority areas, such as grazing land, roads and residential areas. The ongoing U.S.-led air strikes against Afghanistan are likely to introduce a fresh batch of mines and unexploded rockets.
The mine threat has produced whole communities of disabled Afghans. Although aid agencies can provide the means for a semblance of normal life for mine victims, artificial limbs do little to minimize the terrible impact on Afghans whose livelihood depends on being able to do manual work.
Because of recent and past tragedies created by the use of cluster bombs, disarmament campaigners are calling for a global moratorium on the manufacture and use of cluster bombs (Cumming).
Sources:
BBC. "Call for Cluster Bombs Ban." BBC. October, 2001.
CNN. "Afghan Warned Over Cluster Bombs." CNN. October, 2001.
Cumming, Andrew. "Cluster Bombs…. The Living Evil." Current Science. 534: 45-51, 2001.
Pearce, Fred. "Do Not Bomb the Roads." New Scientist. 2311: 3-5, 2001.
Sawahel, Wagdy. "Production of Drought-Resistant Plants Using Gene Technology." Agricultural Magazine (Egypt). 113: 15-21, 1999.
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