this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2023
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[–] tallwookie@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I thought we were against cluster bombs? maybe only in southeast asia?

[–] ReakDuck@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 year ago (3 children)

For europe, yes, for America, Ukraine, Russia and more. Not at all.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Cluster_Munitions

But what was banned was the use of incendiary devices. Which russia used against a city with civilians.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incendiary_device

[–] tenochtitlan@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I've searched through a few of the countries that didn't sign the convention and they either manufacture or have bought large stocks of cluster bombs (India, Argentina, US, and Brazil). The trend seems self evident.

I still don't get why we are trying to justify unloading our backlog of dangerous cluster bombs onto Ukraine soil. Blood is on the hands of the lobbyists that wanted to clear out the warehouses full of cluster bombs. We can make more munitions that we have been sending, which will be less of a hazard to Ukrainian farmers.

[–] Zavala@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Of the many reasons, one is that they are highly effective at killing entreched infantry, which is the majority of the entire frontline. Artillary rounds that explode on impact or fragment in the air are safer for whoever inherits the land, but it take many more times the amount of those rounds to accomplish the same saturation as cluster munitions. This is a sad fact.
You're right though, if Russian farmers get the land they will be bothered by both sides cluster bomblets, probably killed. Ukrainian farmers might be happy to have the land at all.

[–] tenochtitlan@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Ukrainian farmers will be happy to have land that will kill them? This self gas lighting is insane. How about taking off a billion off the lend lease debt everytime a Ukranian dies from unexploded cluster bombs then?