UN fears yellow US bomblets resemble food packets

Reuters | Wednesday, April 2, 2003

[JohnHuang2]

UN fears yellow US bomblets resemble food packets

UNITED NATIONS, April 2 (Reuters) - The U.N. children's fund UNICEF expressed concern on Wednesday that Iraqi children might mistake yellow food packets being handed out by U.S.-led forces with small bombs with identical coloring.

"Confusing unexploded ordinance with food places children at huge risk of injury or death," UNICEF said, calling on the military to urgently change the color of the food packets.

A UNICEF statement said food packets known as "humanitarian daily rations" that were being handed out by the U.S. and British forces in Iraq were covered in a bright yellow plastic wrap.

The color of the wrapping was identical to that of an air-dropped bomblet that UNICEF identified as a BLU 97.

A similar problem had arisen during the war in Afghanistan, where the U.S. military eventually changed the wrapping on food packets to blue, the U.N. agency said.

In Afghanistan, both the food packets and the bomblets were dropped from U.S. aircraft while in Iraq only the bomblets were being air-dropped. But children can still confuse the ration and unexploded ordinance, because of their identical coloring, UNICEF warned.

[sonofatpatcher2]

I vote we change the color of 'yellow snow' to help the Iraqi children. Make it 'plaid snow' instead!

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

US Fears UN Brains Resemble Syphilitic Pustules

[RonF]

This came up in Afghanistan, and some kids were killed and maimed. While you and I could tell the difference, these people aren't exposed to marketing and consumer packaging like we are. I saw pictures of the two here on FR back during the Afghan action, and they looked quite similar to me. I'll bet anything that there's a huge inventory that has to be gone through before a change in the food packet packaging will get made.

[Redleg Duke]

Never to miss a chance at self-trivialization, the UN shoves it foot in its mouth and lodges it in its adnoids!

[rockrr]

Ooh! Ooh! I know!
How 'bout we write "Bomb" on one, and "Food" on the other.....

(Of course then we'd have to decide which one we wanted to label "bomb" and so forth ;'} </sarcasm>

[Jaded]

In Afghanistan, both the food packets and the bomblets were dropped from U.S. aircraft while in Iraq only the bomblets were being air-dropped.

And the children would know about the aid packages how? In those fine state run schools? /so

[pittsburgh gop guy]

As if we needed more proof that the UN is worthless!

[lsee]

Well, Cynthia McKinney was sure worried...Sorry, forgot the barf alert!