http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/R?r109:FLD001:S58949
"Every year, hundreds of civilians are killed and many more are injured due to unexploded cluster bombs. From the fields of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, through the streets of Kosovo and Iraq, to the arid hills of Afghanistan and the playgrounds of Lebanon, these lethal relics of war continue to cripple life, hope, and peace.
Cluster munitions are large bombs, rockets, or artillery shells that contain up to hundreds of small submunitions or individual bomblets. They are intended for attacking enemy troop formations and armor, covering approximately a .6-mile radius. In other words, their swath is over one-half mile. Yet in practice they pose a real threat to the safety of civilians when used in populated areas because they leave hundreds of unexploded bombs over a very large area and they are often inaccurate.
In Laos today, there are between 9 and 27 million unexploded cluster bombs, leftovers from our bombing campaigns in the 1960s and 1970s. Approximately 11,000 people, 30 percent of them children, have been killed or injured since the war ended.
In the first gulf war, 61,000 cluster bombs were used, containing 20 million bomblets. Since 1991, unexploded bomblets have killed 1,600 innocent men, women, and children and injured more than 2,500.
In Afghanistan in 2001, over 1,228 cluster bombs with almost a quarter of a million bomblets were used. Between October 2001 and November 2002, that year, 127 civilians were killed, 70 percent of them under the age of 18.
In Iraq in 2003, 13,000 cluster bombs with 2 million bomblets were used. Combining the first and second gulf war, the total number of unexploded bomblets in the region today is 1.2 million. How many people will die? Already, an estimated 1,220 Kuwaitis and 400 Iraqi civilians have been killed since 1991 because they innocently picked up one of these bomblets.
What gives rise in part to my amendment are recent developments in Lebanon over alleged use of cluster bombs. Throughout southern Lebanon, more than 405 cluster bomb sites containing approximately 100,000 unexploded bomblets have been discovered. Each site covers a radius of 220 yards. As Lebanese children and families return to their homes and begin to rebuild, they will be exposed to the danger of these unexploded bomblets lying in the rubble. Thirteen people, including three young children, have been killed so far, and 48 injured. One United Nations official estimates that the rate of unexploded bomblets is 40 percent. So far, more than 2,000 unexploded bomblets have been destroyed, but it will take 12 to 15 months to complete the effort.
During the Iraq war, U.S. troops fired 6 rockets containing 4,000 bomblets to eliminate 1 artillery piece in a civilian neighborhood. With a 16-percent failure rate, approximately 640 unexploded bomblets were left behind. That is 1 artillery piece--6 rockets, 4,000 bomblets, and today 640 unexploded bomblets on the streets. "
I'll discount the 40% rate but accept the 16%.
I just think we, the US, need to re-examine the use of these type of munitions.