US Warns UK over Cluster Bomb Treaty

[Lazer-Hound]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1976936/Gordon-Brown-on-collision-course-with-George-W-Bush-over-Iraq-cluster-bombs.html

[brickhistory]

Hmmm, didn't see any 'warning, i.e, 'threat.'


But please, carry on.


God help your troops, the poor bastards.

[Double Zero]

Now for the bleedingly obvious - when are Al Queda going to play by the rules ?

Give'em everything we've got - including all politicians, that should truly rodger them if our experience is anything to go by -( except maybe Boris as he's good for a laugh )-from high altitude with pockets full of bomblets...

[soddim]

As far as I am aware brickhistory, all of our troops have mothers and fathers. However, I am much more sure of God's help in their quest to improve life for the Iraqis.

As far as cluster munitions go I subscribe to the Israeli opinion that they are the bad weaponeers' last desperate attempt to hit the target.

[brickhistory]

soddim, you know exactly what I intended. To imply otherwise is a cheap shot.

However, to remain on point, being liable to criminal proceedings for using a legitimate weapon does seem to put British military commanders in a bind.

It would appear they (the poor bastards in my original post) have been sold out for an EU reward with few benefits in return.

[taxydual]

So, we have to go to war with one arm tied behind our back's. Does Terry the Terrorist have the same SOP's? For F***'s sake!!! We'll be air dropping them Bandaids next!!!!

[Green Flash]

We'll be air dropping them Bandaids next
What, Bob Geldoff?

[Melchett01]

Quote:
We'll be air dropping them Bandaids next

What, Bob Geldoff?

Just as long as it isn't on a Monday.

[Mr-AEO]

I don't see why Brit troops would face prosecution if it is US forces that use the weapon. If Brit Forces call in the mud shifters then they get what ordnance they are given, and even then the guy dropping the weapon isn't the one breaking the law, the gov't owns the bomb in the first place.

On a 2nd point. Perhaps we should make bombs out of marshmallows now just in case it hits someone on the head. While we are at it, paint it a nice colour so that it doesn't offend anyone when it is dropped and doesn't go bnag -it is also environmentally friendly and will dissolve over time, or be eaten by children. The marshmallow would be useful in absorbing the loud noise from the bnag action, thereby not waking anyone up that lives near the target.

[Safety_Helmut]

and even then the guy dropping the weapon isn't the one breaking the law, the gov't owns the bomb in the first place.
oh yes, orders are orders after all ! Now, where have I heard that before ?

S_H

[Blacksheep]

I don't suppose we could give up cluster bombs and go back to good old napalm...? :hmm:

[VinRouge]

Why bother with Napalm? Fuel-Air weapons are far more effective and readily usable.
Or how about WP?

[Beatriz Fontana]

I just wonder how many international treaties the UK has signed, but the US has not. If we work in coalition there should be incredibly robust rules of engagement so that our troops get both the protection and a fair representation.

As for the comment that terrorists, sorry, extortionists and murderers, have no rules, if we had no rules to take them on, the world would be chaos. I'd rather not be lowered to their levels, thanks.

[Gainesy]

Why bother with Napalm?

Cos its photogenic.:)

Works pretty good on poppies too.

[Double Zero]

" Works pretty well on poppies too "

In that case can I request a strike on the weeds in our garden - might be a whole new market/role, as the sodding stuff advertised on telly' doesn't work.

If I'm advised of the ETA I'll keep the pets & maybe even girlfriend in, but at the moment I feel I'll let the nearby cowboy builders have the experience !

[Two's in]

Gordon Brown on collision course with George W Bush over Iraq cluster bombs
By Tim Shipman in Washington

...This was a Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the Armaments and Munitions Industry. Please give generously, every penny you give could contribute towards taking a life somewhere.

[ORAC]

Why bother with Napalm? Fuel-Air weapons are far more effective and readily usable.

....I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory.

[High_lander]

Isn't the use of white phosporus illegal already?


I think I remember reading about US troops using rounds with WP heads (Smoke grenades I believe?) as weapons and inquiries and that sort of ****.

[VinRouge]

from an article here...

http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2005/051122-phosphorus-debate.htm

Also on Tuesday ---- after seeming to have the last word on the cover-up controversy last week when he said U.S. forces had used the chemical as a perfectly legal "incendiary weapon" against insurgents ---- Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Venable backtracked on that statement and denied the weapon was used to burn insurgents or civilians.
He said it was only used to drive enemy fighters out of their hiding places so they could be killed by other means.
"We do not use it as an incendiary weapon," said Venable, contradicting his earlier statements.
"But it has incendiary effects," he added.
In his rolling Texas drawl, Venable compared the use of white phosphorus in Fallujah to lawmen trapping "bad guys" in a Western film.
If the fugitives are holed up in a building and "you can't shoot 'em any other way," he said, "you set fire to the building and shoot 'em when they run out.
"That's how they (white phosphorus bombs) were used in Fallujah," Venable said.
Venable, even as he further parsed his previous statements on white phosphorus, blamed the controversy on inaccurate reporting, and mistakes made by government officials.


Yes, there was a stink about it at the time.

[Pontius Navigator]

Interesting,

In Ultimate Force on Saturday our hero used WP exactly for the purpose of incinerating a corpse to stop it being mutilated.

[VinRouge]

Its got to be true then! :}

[0497]

If you duct tape some GPS artillery/mortar rounds together, is that legal?:(

[navibrator]

I dont understand your EU comment. There are 122 nations in this conference - the EU is less than 30! Go figure.

If you took time to read the article past the first few lines you would find and I quote:

"The US instead wants cluster bombs included in a worldwide treaty on conventional arms which would include all the major military powers."

So you want what the majority want - but only to your rules, as normal.