War Criminals And Cluster Bombs

Israeli war crimes here include a wide range of actions, but in some ways the most gratuitous involve a massive use of cluster bombs in the few days leading up to the current cease-fire. Bombs which hadn't been used earlier. There can be only one explanation: The Israelis wanted to see Lebanese civilians killed and maimed well after the fighting stopped. Experts think it may take a decade to clear the bomblets. The UN's Jan Egeland has called their use "completely immoral," the US State Department is investigating and may ban future sales of the weapon to Israel, and the Israelis themselves are concerned that officials traveling abroad may face war crimes charges (as well they should).

Meanwhile, farmers in their fields will keep stepping on bomblets, dislodging them out of trees, and otherwise accidentally blowing themselves up. The weapon should simply be outlawed, considering the massive, long-term harm it does to civilians worldwide compared with the relatively small utility it provides. At a minimum, Israel must be pressured to reveal where the bombs were fired. And, somehow, some Israeli officials should be imprisoned for their use.