Article

2008-08-15 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Russia accused of dropping cluster bombs on Georgian civilians

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Posted by john frum 2008-08-15 08:55|| || Front Page|| [1 views ] Top

#1 As sympathetic as I am to the Georgians, this is balls. Either tag them for attacking civilians, or don't. This blaming of specific tools is nonsense. You don't get any points for gunning down grandma with cannon fire instead of burning her down with napalm.

Posted by Mitch H.">Mitch H. 2008-08-15 09:32|| http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]">[http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/] 2008-08-15 09:32|| Front Page Top

#2 As a citizen of a country that uses cluster bombs, what can I say? The russians don't seem to even try to limit civilian casualties, in fact, to he casual observer it seems that they are just as happy to kill civilians as soldiers in this case.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-08-15 09:39|| 2008-08-15 09:39|| Front Page Top

#3 I agree with Mitch. Clusterbombs aren't the problem, the targetting of civilians is the problem. Even if they were dropping ten-ton bags of flowers on the civilians it would be a problem.

Bit of backhanded unAmericanism in here to make it more palatable to the lefties?

Posted by rjschwarz 2008-08-15 12:15|| 2008-08-15 12:15|| Front Page Top

#4 After watching an impressive display of a pattern of many 500 -lb Rockeye being deployed from a section of A-6s many years ago, cluster bombs do put the hurt on who or whatever is underneath them.
great for real targets, but not so great against civilians.

Posted by USN, Ret. 2008-08-15 12:26|| 2008-08-15 12:26|| Front Page Top

#5 the human rights "community" has been making a big deal of certian weapons systems lately. It started with antipersonall land mines, with SOME justification, as they have nasty post-conflict impacts - the soldiers they were legitimately used against are long gone, and they keep maiming civies for years after. I agree that the full ban went too far and ignored technical fixes, but thats where we are. from 2001 on they got fixated on cluster bombs as being similar to land mines.

I agree that the focus SHOULD be on targeting. But given where the world is, I think its fully just that Russia, which I cant recall objecting to attacks on Israel for using cluster bombs in Lebanon, or on the US for using them in Afghanistan, should be hoisted on this petard.

Posted by liberalhawk 2008-08-15 12:30|| 2008-08-15 12:30|| Front Page Top

#6 I bet there's a lot of rethinking on this one and a reevaluation period causing a halt in the process.

Posted by Procopius2k 2008-08-15 19:24|| 2008-08-15 19:24|| Front Page Top

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