Israel May Have Used Cluster Bombs Illegally
There have been reports that Israel may have broken secret agreements with the US over the use of the weapons we've sold them.
In a related fact, the US was responsible for half of all weapons exports in 2001. In perspective the US exported around two and a half times more weapons than the 2nd and 3rd leading weapon exporting countries combined.
Dalya Farran, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Mine Action Coordination Center, said cluster bombs have been found in 285 locations in south Lebanon.
"And our teams are still doing surveys and adding new locations every day," Farran said. "We find about 30 new locations per day."
The U.S. State Department is investigating whether the use of three types of American cluster munitions - anti-personnel weapons that spray bomblets over a wide area - violated secret agreements that restrict when such arms can be employed, The New York Times reported Friday.
The newspaper quoted several current and former U.S. officials as saying they doubted the probe would lead to sanctions against Israel, but that it might be an effort by the Bush administration to ease Arab criticism of its military support for Israel.
The U.S. has also postponed a shipment of M-26 artillery rockets, another cluster weapon, to Israel, the newspaper said.
U.N. demining experts refused to comment on the U.S. investigation, but suggested Israel violated some aspects of international law. -- Forbes
