Israel Asks U.S. to Ship Rockets With Wide Blast (Cluster bombs)

New York Times ^ | August 11, 2006 | DAVID S. CLOUD

[tlb]

Israel has asked the Bush administration to speed delivery of short-range antipersonnel rockets armed with cluster munitions, which it could use to strike Hezbollah missile sites in Lebanon, two American officials said Thursday.

The request for M-26 artillery rockets, which are fired in barrages and carry hundreds of grenade-like bomblets that scatter and explode over a broad area, is likely to be approved shortly, along with other arms, a senior official said.

But some State Department officials have sought to delay the approval because of concerns over the likelihood of civilian casualties, and the diplomatic repercussions. The rockets, while they would be very effective against hidden missile launchers, officials say, are fired by the dozen and could be expected to cause civilian casualties if used against targets in populated areas.

State Department officials “are discussing whether or not there needs to be a block on this sale because of the past history and because of the current circumstances,” said the senior official, adding that it was likely that Israel will get the rockets, but will be told to be “be careful.”

While Bush administration officials have criticized Israeli strikes that have caused civilian casualties, they have also backed the offensive against Hezbollah by rushing arms shipments to the region. Last month the administration approved a shipment of precision-guided munitions, which one senior official said this week included at least 25 of the 5,000-pound “bunker-buster” bombs.

[tlb]

Second half of the story is Human Rights Watch saying Israel violates international law and shouldn't be supplied. No flight numbers telling what aircraft will carry the shipment, yet.

[Spktyr]

Should be interesting. Hezbollah launches Katushyas, Israel flips an M-26 at the area and destroys an entire city block - before the Hezzies can bug out.

[ex-Texan]

How did the NYT get this story? Why did they publish it? Do these idiot really believe it a good thing to tell the world about military planning? It is time to shut these traitors down!

[Ainast]

Israel flips an M-26 at the area and destroys an entire city block

gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. lol

[Cindy]

Could you continue with your rant please?
I swear I am going to have a stroke if I read/see one more NYT's article like this.

[D-fendr]

They were supposed to have ball bearings in them but Iran/Hezbullah bought up all the surplus.

[garbageseeker]

  

The Israelis want this right?

[LeoWindhorse]

send them Napalm as well

[rawcatslyentist]

They and others (Al Reuters & Al Asociated Press to name a few) are

ENEMEDIA COLLABORATORS!!!

They should be treated as such!!! Fined Jailed Shut DOWN!!!! NOW!!!

[Crazieman]

Ha'aretz will be printing it verbatim in 3...2...1...

[Cinnamon]

what's the hold up? these cluster beauties did wonders during the Persian Gulf war.

[ex-Texan]

I have been listening to Walid Shoebat on Coast2Coast. He is the BEST guest ever! He is so articulate and so well educated on the issues. He is telling it like it really is living with Islamic Fascists in the Middle East. I urge you to tune the program in right now. The program will repeat. Go ahead. Lose some sleep tonight!

[Cindy]

I know who he is.
He is a powerful speaker.

As to losing sleep?

I've done that enough in the last 2 weeks.

Smiling...

Thanks for pointing to the interview.

[edpc]

After watching what happens to this MiG-29, you can only imagine what it's like for massed personnel......

Cluster Bombs in Action

[Captain Rhino]

But some State Department officials have sought to delay the approval because of concerns over the likelihood of civilian casualties, and the diplomatic repercussions.

The likely source of the story is mentioned in this sentence.

BTW, the concern about civilian casualties is legitimate although not controlling. The rocket dispenses DPICMs - dual purpose improved conventional munitions - that can function in either an anti-vehicle or antipersonnel mode depending on hardness of the target being struck. The problem is that sometimes not all of the munitions function properly or they don't strike something hard enough on landing to cause their fuze to function. The dud rate isn't high (e.g., the great majority of the bomblets do function properly) but it isn't zero either. So now, in addition to the destruction you intended (and DPICM is an ideal way to attack the rocket launching sites), you can potentially have dud bomblets lying all over the city block-size target area. These can quickly become covered with dust and other debris and look just like any other object on the ground. Until, that is, they are kicked or bumped or picked up by someone curious about that oddly shaped clod of dirt.

We discovered the dud problem during the 1991 Gulf War when we had a number of post-action friendly casualties due to DPICM. Airborne distillate from the burning oil wells covered over the dud DPICMs laying on the surface of the desert and troops travelling through that hellish, disorienting landscape would either drive over them or stumble upon them when dismounted.

The dud rate is enough of a problem that impact zones essentially become off limits areas for friendly troops until they can be thoroughly demined. Concern about this constriction of maneuver area is a controlling factor in the employment of DPICM. (Which BTW also comes in conventional artillery shells and aircraft bombs.) Developers were supposedly working to either improve the fuze functioning (lower the dud rate to zero- theoretically possible but unlikely) or incorporate a render safe/self-destruct mechanism in them. Don't know if that ever happened.

[Jimmy Valentine]

It is really time to clean out the fifth column in the State Department.

They have been working full time for the enemies of America since before WW-2

[OldFriend]

Where was the State Dept. and the Human Rights cabal when slick willie was dropping cluster bombs on city streets in Yugoslavia. (Serbia)

[OldFriend]

NYT published this story because they're mad no one leaked the airline terror plot to them. They wanted to be able to warn the terrorists in time for them to escape arrest.

[Psalm 73]

"...some State Department officials have sought to delay the approval..."

I REALLY thought Condi would change the way the State Dept. thinks and acts - they are hurting Israel and in turn, hurting us.

[dervish]

Second half also says this:

The United States Army also employs the M-26 rocket and the Multiple Launch Rocket System in combat, and the Pentagon has sold the weapon to numerous other allies, in addition to Israel. The system is especially effective at attacking enemy artillery sites, military experts say, because the rockets can be quickly targeted against a defined geographic area. Each rocket contains 644 submunitions that kill enemy soldiers operating artillery in the area.

'snip'

The M-26 “is a particularly deadly weapon,” Bonnie Docherty, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, who helped write a study of the United States’ use of the weapons in the 2003 Iraq invasion. “They were used widely by U.S. forces in Iraq and caused hundreds of civilian casualties.”

---

So other allies are trusted with them but not Israel which is under severe attack? State hates Israel.