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Questions and Answers about Cluster Bombs and the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act
Questions
1. What are cluster bombs?
2. Why is FCNL concerned about them?
3. What is the world doing about cluster bombs?
4. How does the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act help?
5. What about cluster bomb export?
6. Does the U.S. use cluster bombs?
7. What is President Obama's stance on cluster bombs?
8. Doesn't the military need cluster bombs?
9. Where can I learn more about cluster bombs?
1. What are cluster bombs?
Cluster bombs — more technically called cluster munitions — open in mid-air
and spew hundreds of small bomblets about the size of a soda can over a wide
area. Each of these sub-munitions is supposed to detonate when it hits the ground,
sending out deadly shrapnel. A typical cluster bomb, which contains between dozens
and hundreds of bomblets, can kill or injure anyone in an area the size of one or
two football fields. Cluster bombs are delivered by artillery or aircraft.
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2. Why is FCNL concerned about them?
These weapons are designed to be used on a battlefield, against concentrations
of soldiers or armored vehicles, but are often used in civilian areas instead. This use
violates international humanitarian law’s prohibition on indiscriminate attacks.
In addition, many of the bomblets — between 5 to 25 percent or more — do not
explode as intended, becoming de facto landmines for many years to come.
Because of these weapons’ double impact—causing casualties during a conflict
and long after the conflict has subsided—cluster munitions are one of the most
hazardous weapons to civilians used in wars today. Recent estimates suggest
that the vast majority of cluster bomb casualties are civilians, many of them children.
See a report from Handicap International for more details (PDF).
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3. What is the world doing about cluster bombs?
Over the past two years the global community negotiated a treaty banning use, export, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs. In December 2008, 95 countries —including most of our major allies—signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo, Norway. The U.S. did not participate in this treaty negotiation, and it has not signed the treaty, just as it has not signed the treaty banning antipersonnel landmines.
While this treaty does establish a strong international norm against continued use, production and export of cluster bombs, it cannot place restrictions on countries that choose not to participate.
In July 2008 the Secretary of Defense released a new cluster bomb policy, a direct result of international and congressional pressure on the issue. While the policy acknowledges the need to eventually eliminate unreliable and indiscriminate cluster bombs from the U.S. arsenal, it would not do so until 2018. We appreciate that Secretary Gates recognizes the humanitarian danger posed by these weapons but feel that the time to renounced them is now, not in ten years. Britain, the United States’ combat partner in Iraq and Afghanistan—and the third largest user of cluster munitions in the past decade—signed the treaty and renounced further use of cluster bombs. We can too.
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4. How does the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act help?
This common-sense bill would
1. Prevent the U.S. military from using cluster bombs in civilian-populated areas;
2. Limit U.S. use of cluster bombs to those that have a very
low (1% or lower) dud rate. The dud rate describes what fraction of bomblets
fail to explode at use and, therefore, pose a hazard on the ground to civilians after combat ends. Only a very very small portion of the U.S. cluster submunitions arsenal meets this reliability requirement.
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5. What about cluster bomb export?
Congress banned exports of cluster bombs in late 2007, and President Bush signed the ban into law. Before that, the United States had exported or transferred cluster munitions to at least 29 other states. See a map of these states. U.S.-produced cluster bombs were used most recently by Israel during its conflict with Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon in 2006. During the conflict 285 people were killed by cluster bombs, and unexploded bomblets caused more than 300 additional casualties in Lebanon since the fighting ended. More than two years after the fighting ended, tens of thousands of cluster submunitions continue to threaten the people of southern Lebanon. U.S.-produced cluster bombs have also reportedly been used by Moroccan forces in Western Sahara and possibly by Colombian forces in Colombia.
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6. Does the U.S. use cluster bombs?
Since World War II, U.S. armed forces have fired cluster bombs in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq, Kuwait, Laos, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and the former Yugoslavia. In Laos alone, more than ten thousand civilians, many of them children or subsistence farmers, have lost their lives or limbs to these deadly weapons. During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, cluster bombs caused more civilian casualties than any other U.S. weapon.
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7. What is President Obama's stance on cluster bombs?
The new administration has not yet taken a position on whether it will bring the United States into the cluster bomb treaty negotiated and opened for signing in 2008. While he was in the Senate, Obama voted for an amendment to restrict cluster bomb use and export, and in December 2008 his transition team promised to carefully review the new treaty. With so many other issues pressing for his attention, President Obama needs to know that he has support from the public and from the Senate to place further restrictions on these weapons and put the U.S. on track to join the global ban treaty. Help change U.S. policy by urging your senators and representative today.
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8. Doesn't the military need cluster bombs?
No. Cluster bombs were designed to attack large vehicle and troop formations. They
were not designed for the type of insurgent-based conflicts we see today. They simply aren’t precise enough to be useful in modern warfare. Many cluster bombs in U.S. stockpiles are also nearing the end of their storage life and will become even more unreliable and dangerous.
Cluster bomb use can also be counterproductive. Duds both constrain and endanger troops on the ground. Reports after the Gulf War, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq cite the negative impact of cluster bombs on both friendly forces and peacekeepers.
In counterinsurgency situations, like Iraq and Afghanistan, the use of cluster munitions would undermine U.S. efforts to win over the local population. For this reason, the U.S. hasn’t used cluster munitions in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003.
Don't believe us? See what members of the military say.
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9. Where can I learn more about cluster bombs?
Human Rights Watch has an excellent collection of resources on past use of cluster bombs and U.S. policy. Read the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines’ commentary on the December treaty signing in Oslo. Check out blog and media coverage from the Midwest “cluster bomb survivors tour”. To learn more about humanitarian demining, visit Adopt-A-Minefield, Mines Advisory Group, or Roots of Peace.
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