© clusterbombs.usAhmed Kamel, 12-year old Iraqi, victim of US cluster bomb
US Moves to Overturn Ban on Cluster Bombs Cluster bombs are widely deemed inherently indiscriminate weapons, but the US aims to torpedo international banThe
U.S. is leading an effort to water down an international ban on cluster bombs, weapons that are widely considered to be inherently indiscriminate.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits cluster munitions, requires the destruction of stockpiles within eight years, and has been signed by 111 countries, while the U.S. has steadfastly refused to sign it. In a proposal that meant to neuter the convention, Washington now is pushing to permit the use of cluster bombs as long as they were manufactured after 1980 and had a failure rate of less than one per cent.
The Convention began to take effect in June 2010, just after a
U.S.cluster bomb killed 35 women and children in Yemen, with the Pentagon stubbornly refusing to admit to the wrongdoing
despite damning evidence compiled by Amnesty International, which was
later corroborated by classified diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.
Cluster bombs are highly imprecise weapons that work by dispersing hundreds of smaller submunitions, often referred to as bomblets or grenades. Often, the bomblets do not initially explode, only to explode later with civilians about.
Cluster bombs were used in the initial phases of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and the Obama administration is currently leading the cause to keep them legal.
You would need them to attack Iran as it is a very complex mix of environments. Cluster bombs are the best carpet bombing technique which is ideal for clearing widespread populations. Tanks and armored vehicles then just drive over the bombs as individually they are small explosives. In Irans terrain large bombs and pin point bombs would not provide adequate safety for a followup ground offensive.