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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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September 12th,
2006 - IDF Commander: We Fired More than a Million Cluster Bombs |
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IDF Commander: We Fired More
than a Million Cluster Bombs in Lebanon By Meron Rappaport Haaretz September 12, 2006 "What we did was insane
and monstrous, we covered entire towns in cluster bombs," the head of an
IDF rocket unit in Lebanon said regarding the use of cluster bombs and
phosphorous shells during the war. Quoting his battalion
commander, the rocket unit head stated that the IDF fired around 1,800
cluster bombs, containing over 1.2 million cluster bomblets. In addition, soldiers in IDF
artillery units testified that the army used phosphorous shells during the
war, widely forbidden by international law. According to their claims, the
vast majority of said explosive ordinance was fired in the final 10 days of
the war. The rocket unit commander
stated that Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) platforms were heavily used
in spite of the fact that they were known to be highly inaccurate. MLRS is a track or tire
carried mobile rocket launching platform, capable of firing a very high
volume of mostly unguided munitions. The basic rocket fired by the platform
is unguided and imprecise, with a range of about 32 kilometers. The rockets
are designed to burst into sub-munitions at a planned altitude in order to
blanket enemy army and personnel on the ground with smaller explosive rounds. The use of such weaponry is
controversial mainly due to its inaccuracy and ability to wreak great havoc
against indeterminate targets over large areas of territory, with a margin of
error of as much as 1,200 meters from the intended target to the area hit. The cluster rounds which
don't detonate on impact, believed by the United Nations to be around 40% of
those fired by the IDF in Lebanon, remain on the ground as unexploded
munitions, effectively littering the landscape with thousands of land mines
which will continue to claim victims long after the war has ended. Because of their high level
of failure to detonate, it is believed that there are around 500,000
unexploded munitions on the ground in Lebanon. To date 12 Lebanese civilians
have been killed by these mines since the end of the war. According to the commander,
in order to compensate for the inaccuracy of the rockets and the inability to
strike individual targets precisely, units would "flood" the
battlefield with munitions, accounting for the littered and explosive
landscape of post-war Lebanon. When his reserve duty came
to a close, the commander in question sent a letter to Defense Minister Amir
Peretz outlining the use of cluster munitions, a letter which has remained
unanswered. ‘Excessive injury and unnecessary suffering’ It has come to light that
IDF soldiers fired phosphorous rounds in order to cause fires in Lebanon. An
artillery commander has admitted to seeing trucks loaded with phosphorous
rounds on their way to artillery crews in the north of Israel. A direct hit from a
phosphorous shell typically causes severe burns and a slow, painful death. International law forbids
the use of weapons that cause "excessive injury and unnecessary
suffering", and many experts are of the opinion that phosphorous rounds
fall directly in that category. The International Red Cross
has determined that international law forbids the use of phosphorous and
other types of flammable rounds against personnel, both civilian and
military. IDF: No violation of international law In response, the IDF
Spokesman's Office stated that "International law does not include a
sweeping prohibition of the use of cluster bombs. The convention on
conventional weaponry does not declare a prohibition on [phosphorous
weapons], rather, on principles regulating the use of such weapons. "For understandable
operational reasons, the IDF does not respond to [accounts of] details of
weaponry in its possession. "The IDF makes use only
of methods and weaponry which are permissible under international law.
Artillery fire in general, including MLRS fire, were used in response solely
to firing on the state of Israel." The Defense Minister's
office said it had not received messages regarding cluster bomb fire. External link: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/761781.html |