"Cluster Munitions cannot be used agsinst civilians. Period."

Apparently they can.

Strange how things we think are so settled can fly to pieces when the "good guys" start flying planes into buildings and beheading people. If Hezbollah, Hamas, al Qaeda and the rest decide to keep this up, they might find that the world can stomach a LOT more than they pretended. The Middle East as a whole might be a lot less populous place.

I think that we can agree that when one side totally rejects any humanity in a war, you shouldn't be surprised when the other side's anger gets the best of them. Terrorist leaders made a horrific mistake hitting the US, Britain and Spain. If they keep it up, they'll see how well they, their kids, and their little dog, too, fare when everyone shows less restraint.

Cluster Munitions cannot be used agsinst civilians. Period.

WRONG ANSWER! The ONLY type of weapon that is strictly prohibited is an Incendiary type.

Protocol III Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons. Geneva, 10 October 1980 Article 1 Definitions For the purpose of this Protocol: Incendiary weapon" means any weapon or munition which is primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof, produced by a chemical reaction of a substance delivered on the target. (a) Incendiary weapons can take the form of, for example, flame throwers, fougasses, shells, rockets, grenades, mines, bombs and other containers of incendiary substances. ( Incendiary weapons do not include: (i) Munitions which may have incidental incendiary effects, such as illuminants, tracers, smoke or signalling systems; (ii) Munitions designed to combine penetration, blast or fragmentation effects with an additional incendiary effect, such as armour-piercing projectiles, fragmentation shells, explosive bombs and similar combined-effects munitions in which the incendiary effect is not specifically designed to cause burn injury to persons, but to be used against military objectives, such as armoured vehicles, aircraft and installations or facilities. Concentration of civilians" means any concentration of civilians, be it permanent or temporary, such as in inhabited parts of cities, or inhabited towns or villages, or as in camps or columns of refugees or evacuees, or groups of nomads. Military objective" means, so far as objects are concerned, any object which by its nature, location, purpose or use makes an effective contribution to military action and whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage. Civilian objects" are all objects which are not military objectives as defined in paragraph 3. Feasible precautions" are those precautions which are practicable or practically possible taking into account all circumstances ruling at the time, including humanitarian and military considerations. Article 2 Protection of civilians and civilian objects It is prohibited in all circumstances to make the civilian population as such, individual civilians or civilian objects the object of attack by incendiary weapons. It is prohibited in all circumstances to make any military objective located within a concentration of civilians the object of attack by air-delivered incendiary weapons. It is further prohibited to make any military objective located within a concentration of civilians the object of attack by means of incendiary weapons other than air-delivered incendiary weapons, except when such military objective is clearly separated from the concentration of civilians and all feasible precautions are taken with a view to limiting the incendiary effects to the military objective and to avoiding, and in any event to minimizing, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects. It is prohibited to make forests or other kinds of plant cover the object of attack by incendiary weapons except when such natural elements are used to cover, conceal or camouflage combatants or other military objectives, or are themselves military objectives.

Existing International Humanitarian Law Although there is no treaty that specifically regulates cluster munitions, Additional Protocol I of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions offers internationally accepted legal standards for evaluating the problems posed by these weapons.4 The articles discussed below are considered customary law, that is, legal norms deriving from common state practice that bind all nations regardless of specific legal commitments. The CCW Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War, agreed to in November 2003, is also relevant to cluster munitions.5

Link

It's pretty silly to argue the technicalities of the "rules of war" when one side laughs at them and has no intention of abiding by them.

Isreal may be the local nuclear power, but you can't be serious, Bahu. With a publicly avowed objective (the destruction of Israel), Hezbollah will use whatever they can get to damage Israel as much as possible, including whatever their patrons can supply them.

If Hezbollah shipped all the rockets back to Iran & Syria & said, forget it, we should all just get along, Israel would be no threat to Lebanon or anyone else. If Israel disarmed, Hezbollah would hardly reciprocate and you know it. The threats are disproportionate and that's what you should be focusing on, but I won't hold my breath.

For anyone to assert that what we are seeing is justified because three Israeli Soldiers were captured has lost any sense of sanity. To believe that the capture of three soldiers endanger the state of Israel as Bush said to justify the attacks by Israel is idiotic. Israel captures Palestinians all the time and what Israel is doing is punishing millions of people that HAD NOTHING to do with the capture of the three soldiers.

Just about EVERY world leader has said what Israel is doing is not justified and is causing more hatred and violence. Even Jordan which has been one of our best allies in the Moslem world has condemned Israel.

LOL, and I wonder what Col Propaganda would say if two US soldiers were kidnapped and 8 killed by forces that crossed the border and attacked us in the US. Jeez louise, Col, can't you see how transparent your rhetoric is? Imagine a week later if Bush HADN'T rained hell on whatever nation was responsible...

Learn a bit about the nation you are championing. They mentioned on CNN earlier that Hezbollah has an 80% approval rate there. It has a seat on the cabinet and a substantial showing in their legislature. The Lebanese government turned their southern border over to them. Don't pretend that Lebanon doesn't have anything to do with Hezbollah.

Just about EVERY world leader has said what Israel is doing is not justified and is causing more hatred and violence. Even Jordan which has been one of our best allies in the Moslem world has condemned Israel.

Many Jordanians, however, feel that Middle East Arabs cannot continue to tolerate the chaos perpetuated by these terrorists. An acquaintance of mine, a Jordanian-born civil engineer, visited family in Jordan just last month - he told me the people of Jordan despise Hezbollah & support Israel's response. He summed it up simply by saying the the Arabs there "must change."

Imagine a week later if Bush HADN'T rained hell on whatever nation was responsible...

I can... another rehash of Bush's NG record & some more of the Col's apoplexy over GW's honorable discharge. So, thank God Mexico hasn't attacked.

Israel has used bunker busting bombs on hospitls, roads, schools, residential appartments mosques and even a synagogue. I do not think any strategic goal was achieved by this carnage except to terrorise the civilian population.

Some 500+ deaths in 18 days time is hardly carnage or terror. The number of dead would be in the thousands had that been Israel's intent. Lebanon has a population upwards of 4.5 million, and you want to portray 500 "civilian" deaths as carnage and terror? The fact that only hundreds have been killed is a testament to Israeli restraint. They could handily destroy the sectors and cities claimed by Hezbollah, but they haven't. They could bomb and strafe refugees headed to Syria for that matter. Furthermore, the numbers themselves are suspect, with nobody to corroborate Lebanese claims. Have they labeled any bodies as belonging to militants? Honest question. It certainly serves Lebanese interests to inflate numbers and claim all deaths to be civilian.

For anyone to assert that what we are seeing is justified because three Israeli Soldiers were captured has lost any sense of sanity. To believe that the capture of three soldiers endanger the state of Israel as Bush said to justify the attacks by Israel is idiotic. Israel captures Palestinians all the time and what Israel is doing is punishing millions of people that HAD NOTHING to do with the capture of the three soldiers. Just about EVERY world leader has said what Israel is doing is not justified and is causing more hatred and violence. Even Jordan which has been one of our best allies in the Moslem world has condemned Israel.

And for "anyone" to believe you, they must have lost their mind.

Bakerstreet

You assert that the people Lebanon support Hezbollah. Those are the same people that Bush said had to elect a government in Lebanon which they did and now you are saying the new government elected by the people support Terrorists? Sounds like the Bush democracies in Lebanon and Iraq are not working like he thought!

Drmiler

Just read what the world leaders are saying about the excess that Israel has done by destroying Gaza and Lebanon. It has nothing to do with believing me just look at what the world leaders are saying.

"You assert that the people Lebanon support Hezbollah. Those are the same people that Bush said had to elect a government in Lebanon which they did and now you are saying the new government elected by the people support Terrorists? Sounds like the Bush democracies in Lebanon and Iraq are not working like he thought!"

I fully support their democratic right to elect terrorists, just as I support Israel's right to defend themselves against their national aggression. You obviously believe that no chance of a stable, honest government is better than a real chance. The difference is in 5 years they may change their mind, while under a totalitarian government they have no such ability.

Bahu, I would respect you much more if you came out and just declared your true feelings, you hate Jews! you hide behind some bullshit "i care about casualties" yet your anti Israel stance and blantant hatered for Jews come shining through.,

You assert that the people Lebanon support Hezbollah. Those are the same people that Bush said had to elect a government in Lebanon which they did and now you are saying the new government elected by the people support Terrorists? Sounds like the Bush democracies in Lebanon and Iraq are not working like he thought!

Hey dummy get your facts straight. We (the US) had nothing to do with the government in Lebanon. Try Afganistan. You know col it gets mighty boring listening to you mouth the same kind of garbage over and over and over, again. Always Bush baaaaad. Never anything but.

yet your anti Israel stance and blantant hatered for Jews come shining through

Many Jordanians, however, feel that Middle East Arabs cannot continue to tolerate the chaos perpetuated by these terrorists

My concern is for the innocent civilians who are being needlessly killed bu the IDF as at Qana. The wholw world has condemned that act including USA in its owen perverse way. I have a lot of respect for Israel and I am sorry if you feel that criticism for their atrocities amounts to "jewhating".

Evebn the Jordanians have asked for Israel to stop what its own US approved, moderale face of the Arab world calls an "ugly crime" of Israel in Lebanon.

"My concern is for the innocent civilians who are being needlessly killed bu the IDF as at Qana."

How can you say destroying a rocket launcher that is sending missiles into your country is "needless"? You're posing the idea that there's really no reason for Israel to have attacked Qana. I think rocket attacks are most certainly a reason.

If you want to talk about needless attacks, please explain the "need" for Lebanese to be killing Israelis. There is a tangible benefit to the attacker when you destroy a rocket launcher. Please explain the tangible benefit to the Lebanese when a Hezbollah rocked smashes through an Israeli apartment building.

Lebanon has a population upwards of 4.5 million, and you want to portray 500 "civilian" deaths as carnage and terror? The fact that only hundreds have been killed is a testament to Israeli restraint. They could handily destroy the sectors and cities claimed by Hezbollah, but they haven't. They could bomb and strafe refugees headed to Syria for that matter.

This is exactly the sory of extremism that led to the trgedy at Qana. The Hizbollah has attacked the IDF and has killed 27 soldiers. The Israelis have attaked civilians by air and have killed around 600.