Cluster Bombs in the news...

[scoober78]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061102/wl_afp/belgiumarmsbombs_061102174506

Must be lousy pilots/BN's...

Seriously though...this can't be as big a problem as the statistic in the headline suggest....can it?

 

[fc2spyguy]

It wouldn't surprise me. I've been to impact sites that had the place littered with bomblets. I can't say the percentages, but there are plenty of them that don't explode when you use a cluster bomb. Drop a lot of them, and you end up with a lot of bomblets just laying around unexploded. A couple years back at White Sands Missile Range, NM (I was stationed there for three years) they lost an airman due to stupidity. The story as it was told me is like this: He picked up an unexploded bomblet thinking it was something else (they come in many shapes), his friend told him to put it down. Instead of placing it he goes to throw it. That was enough force to detonate it, and he bled out before they could get him help. Mind you the northern range is about 40+ miles from the nearest medical facility, and the cell phone coverage is absolutely horrible.

 

[Brett327]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061102/wl_afp/belgiumarmsbombs_061102174506

Must be lousy pilots/BN's...

Seriously though...this can't be as big a problem as the statistic in the headline suggest....can it?

You have only to look at the source of the data to see the bias. The "facts" in the article are bogus as well. It claims cluster munitions entered service during the Vietnam war, but I know the Germans used them in WWII. These are people who would be happy banning all weapons and they should be ignored and ridiculed.

Brett

 

[raptor10]

From WikiAwesome

The first cluster bomb used operationally was the German SD-2 or Sprengbombe Dickwandig 2 kg, commonly referred to as the Butterfly Bomb. It was used during the Second World War to attack both civilian and military targets. The technology was developed independently by the United States of America, Russia and Italy (see Thermos Bomb). Cluster bombs are now standard air-dropped munitions for most nations, in a wide variety of types.
Artillery shells that employ similar principles have existed for decades. They are typically referred to as ICM (Improved Conventional Munitions) shells. The US military slang terms for them are "firecracker" or "popcorn" shells, for the many small explosions they cause in the target area.

Watch out for that Dickwandig.

 

[invertedflyer]

These are people who would be happy banning all weapons and they should be ignored and ridiculed.

I second that. Don't count on the media to get anything right about the military anytime soon ...

 

[Catmando]

Most all ordnance I know of occasionally has duds.
Duds can indeed be dangerous, just as leftover mines are.

Duds are bad. They represent wasted missions and ordnance. Our enemy used them as booby traps (now called IED's). They later harmed civilians.

The surest way to eliminate dangerous duds is to eliminate war.
But wars exist. So too will duds.

The most effective weapon I ever dropped was a cluster bomb.
Its purpose was - indeed its actual affect was - to end a war earlier (while also protecting our troops).

The more effective the weapon, the less likelihood there is of later loss of life on all sides.

When you end a war earlier because of superior weaponry, among all the many other benefits, you also end the loss of life. This far outweighs the dangerous dud potential that the referenced article decries.

 

[scoober78]

Just to clarify...I posted the article because it continues to amaze me how little the media understands about the military. In addition I was looking for some confirmation that the 97% statistic is utterly ridiculous. Third, I was surprised that Yahoo, which ususally doesn't get sucked into terribly politically charged stories had this on their front page.

Thanks for the firsthand account their fc2spyguy...

 

[Brett327]

Just to clarify...I posted the article because it continues to amaze me how little the media understands about the military. In addition I was looking for some confirmation that the 97% statistic is utterly ridiculous. Third, I was surprised that Yahoo, which ususally doesn't get sucked into terribly politically charged stories had this on their front page.
Thanks for the firsthand account their fc2spyguy...

Seriously? Their prime provider is the AP, which IMO is one of the worst and most sensationally driven news services.

Brett

 

[greysword]

Watch out for that Dickwandig.

Uh huh huh huh, He said Dickwandig, uh huh huh.