{"article":{"id":178615,"heading":"Israel's Use of American Cluster Bombs: A Walk Through the Rubble","author":"FRANKLIN LAMB","created":"2006-09-15 23:21:49","modified":"2006-09-18 12:33:12","last_modified":"Mon, 18 Sep 2006 20:33:12","article":"

A Walk Through the Rubble

Israel's Use of American Cluster Bombs

By FRANKLIN LAMB

Al Sultaneih, Lebanon.

As the initial assessment and clean up of American cluster bombs, estimated at more than 130,000 unexploded bomblets across the south of Lebanon, gets underway, unanticipated findings are emerging:

The breadth and depth of the problem with cluster bombs found in 498 locations in scores of villages as of September 9th was not expected. So far less than 4% have been disposed of, and 0 % of the villages in the south have been certified as safe for domestic or agricultural use by the United Nations ordnance disposal task force.

Even operators of heavy rubble clearing equipment are finding their work is stymied because Israel dropped cluster bombs both before and after many buildings were destroyed by bombs, and therefore cluster bombs are sandwiched between layers of pancaked walls and piles of rubble.

While the M-26 Cluster Bomb Unit may have looked \"promising\" at military demo shows when observed in ideal conditions of level, obstruction-free open areas, using \"polished bomblet\" conditions, the reality is very different in villages which are seeing not the military touted \"dud rates\" in the 1% to 4% range, but rather \"dud rates\" in the 40-60% range. No weapons with this performance statistic would be taken seriously at arms sale outlets.

The U.S. cluster munitions dropped across Lebanon have been a near total failure as far as their claimed purpose and justification, degrading Hezbollah forces. Lebanese Army, UN, and Hezbollah sources agree the Cluster Bombs had virtually no impact on Palestinian, Amal, and Hezbollah fighters during the recent conflict.

One Hezbollah commander told this observer: \"Maybe 3 or 4 [were killed] -- perhaps a few more I didn't hear about -- due to accidents by our forcesbut unlike the civilian population, we have a long history of confronting the Zionist aggressors and we often know what they will do before they do. True, they have your country's latest weapons, but one-on-one they are not impressive at all. Much more cowardly and incompetent than their propaganda claimsplus they are very weak psychologically -- they know they stole Palestine, and they realize that sooner or later they will have to make peace, or they will destroy themselves and disappear from the region.\"

Another commander added, \"My brothers can't wait for their [Israeli] troops to enter Lebanon again on the ground. We are eager to hit them harder next time. The Zionists' training has been used to using tanks against stone-throwing children and harassing pregnant women at check points. We now have the weapons to quickly destroy their tanks. That is why they couldn't enter and finally accepted a ceasefire. We don't respect them either as men or soldiers\".

Yet another offered: \"When we fire a rocket or series of rockets at their weapon stockpiles or artillery positions in northern Palestine, our brothers know that they have approximately 6-7 minutes to disappear -- usually underground. The Zionists place their weapons next to Arab neighborhoods, where they have not provided shelters for the non-Jews. We are accused of targeting civilians. This is not truewe know where their weapons are exactly. They hide behind the civilians in northern Palestine like they do in Gaza. Using the people as shields.\"

Other recent findings confirm that Israel may have dropped as many as 60 % of the cluster bombs they used during July-August 2006 in the 72 hours immediately before the ceasefire. Military analysts on the ground offer two explanations:

1. Shear frustration, hatred, and rage by Israel's leadership and its obsession with punishing Lebanon for its more than 85% support (including Lebanon's middle class and Christian citizens) for Hezbollah's resistance to Israel's attempted reoccupation up to the Litani River.

2. A desire by Israel to get rid of as much of its U.S. cluster bomb inventory as possible, which the Pentagon has stipulated must be reduced to a lower level before Israel can reorder newer models like the M-26. This is why the 33 year old CBU-58, almost extinct, was used so widely. Israel was cleaning out its CBU closet for new orders, one Lebanese army source reported.

Senator Ted Stevens and those in the Senate who opposed banning cluster bombs on Sept. 9 might want to reflect on what actual utility the US cluster bombs used by Israel in Lebanon actually achieved.



* * *

According to Israeli soldiers, reported in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz on Sept. 13, the Israeli military launched over 1.2 million cluster bombs into Lebanon, and used phosphorous shells as well -- \"the overwhelming majority used in the last ten days of the war.\" The use of phosphorous, which causes excruciating burns, is prohibited under international law.

An Israeli rocket unit commander stated that because the Israeli rockets are so imprecise, his unit was ordered to \"flood\" the area with them. The soldiers said that during IDF training exercises live rockets are almost never fired, to prevent leaving duds behind that would \"fill the IDF's firing grounds with mines.\" Yet, the soldiers said, Israeli forces in Lebanon fired the rockets at ranges of less than 15 kilometers, \"even though the manufacturer's guidelines state that firing at this range considerably increases the number of duds.\"

The rocket commander, who said he had complained to Israel's Defense Minister but has received no response, stated: \"In Lebanon, we covered entire villages with cluster bombs. What we did there was crazy and monstrous.\"

Dr. Franklin Lamb, an international lawyer and author of \"Israel's War in Lebanon: Eyewitness Chronicles of the Invasion and Occupation,\" is a research associate at If Americans Knew. He can be reached at fpiercelamb@aol.com<\/a><\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"As the initial assessment and clean up of American cluster bombs, estimated at more than 130,000 unexploded bomblets across the south of Lebanon, gets underway, unanticipated findings are emerging:","numcomment":5,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2006\/09\/178615.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":178616,"heading":"Thanks for posting, you don't see this in the mainstream media","article":"Thanks for posting, you don't see this in the mainstream media--the vast majority of what is spewed out of the right wing pro-war, projizrael media is propaganda these days.\r\nThank Yahweh for alternative media.","author":"Shame on Ben Kosiba","parent_id":178615,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-09-15 23:23:37","modified":"2006-09-15 23:23:37","fileurl":""},{"id":178718,"heading":"Looks like mincing words on the # of cluster bombs was a bit crazy","article":"Looks like the number was much higher...and counting?????\r\n","author":"Wow! Looks like the # of cluster bombs......","parent_id":178615,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-09-16 21:12:48","modified":"2006-09-16 21:12:48","fileurl":""},{"id":178872,"heading":"How many babies murdered? Just in Lebanon?","article":"Too many.","author":"Israel = baby murderers","parent_id":178615,"mime_type":"image\/gif","created":"2006-09-18 04:22:33","modified":"2006-09-18 04:22:33","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/09\/lebanon.gif","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/09\/lebanon.gif"}},{"id":178886,"heading":"Retaliation is on its way","article":"The new al-Qaida field commander in Afghanistan \r\nis calling for Muslims to leave the U.S. \u2013 \r\nparticularly Washington and New York \u2013 in \r\nanticipation of a major terror attack to rival \r\nSept. 11, according \r\nto an interview by a Pakistani journalist.\r\n\r\nAbu Dawood told Hamid Mir, a reporter who has \r\ncovered al-Qaida and met with Osama bin Laden, \r\nthe attack is being coordinated by Adnan \r\nel-Shukrijumah and suggests it may involve some \r\nform of weapon of mass destruction smuggled across the Mexican border.\r\n\r\n"Our brothers are ready to attack inside America. \r\nWe will breach their security again," he is \r\nquoted as saying. "There is no timeframe for our \r\nattack inside America; we can do it any time."\r\n\r\nAs \r\nWND has previously reported, el-Shukrijumah is a \r\ntrained nuclear technician and accomplished pilot \r\nwho has been singled out by bin Laden and Ayman \r\nal-Zawahiri to serve as the field commander for \r\nthe next terrorist attack on U.S. soil.\r\n\r\nThe terrorist was last seen in Mexico, where, on \r\nNov. 1, 2004, he allegedly hijacked a Piper PA \r\nPawnee cropduster from Ejido Queretaro near \r\nMexicali to transport a nuclear weapon and \r\nnuclear equipment into the U.S., according to \r\nPaul Williams, a former FBI consultant and author \r\nof \r\n"The \r\nDunces of Doomsday."\r\n\r\n"He is an American and a friend of Muhammad Atta, \r\nwho led 9\/11 attacks five years ago," said \r\nDawood. "We call him 'Jaffer al Tayyar' (Jafer \r\nthe Pilot); he is very brave and intelligent. \r\n(President) Bush is aware that brother Adnan has \r\nsmuggled deadly materials inside America from the \r\nMexican border. Bush is silent about him, because \r\nhe doesn\u2019t want to panic his people. Sheikh Osama \r\nbin Laden has completed his cycle of warnings. \r\nYou know, he is man of his words, he is not a \r\npolitician; he always does what he says. If he \r\nsaid it many times that Americans will see new \r\nattacks, they will definitely see new attacks. He \r\nis a real mujahid. Americans will not win this \r\nwar, which they have started against Muslims. \r\nAmericans are the biggest supporters of the \r\nbiggest terrorist in the world, which is Israel."\r\n\r\nDawood said he was currently conducting \r\noperations in Afghanistan under the leadership of \r\nthe Taliban. He warned of a series of upcoming \r\nsuicide bombings there directed against \r\ngovernment and coalition forces during Ramadan.\r\n\r\nHe is also quoted as saying the next attack in \r\nAmerica will not be conducted by people like Atta.\r\n\r\n"We have a different plan for the next attack," \r\nhe told Mir. "You will see. Americans will hardly \r\nfind out any Muslim names, after the next attack. \r\nMost of our brothers are living in Western \r\ncountries, with Jewish and Christian names, with \r\npassports of Western countries. This time, \r\nsomeone with the name of Mohamed Atta will not \r\nattack inside America, it would be some David, Richard or Peter."\r\n\r\nHe said there will be another audio message from \r\nbin Laden aired within the next two weeks.\r\n\r\nMir reportedly interviewed Dawood Sept. 12 at the \r\ntomb of Sultan Mehmud Ghaznawi on the outskirts \r\nof Kabul. Dawood and the al-Qaida leaders who \r\naccompanied him were clean-shaven and dressed as \r\nWestern reporters. The al-Qaida commander had \r\ncontacted Mir by cell phone to arrange the meeting.\r\n\r\n"You have witnessed the brutality of the Israelis \r\nin the recent 34-day war against Lebanese \r\ncivilians," said Dawood. "9\/11 was a revenge of \r\nPalestinian children, killed by the U.S.-made \r\nweapons, supplied to Israel. The next attack on \r\nAmerica would be a revenge of Lebanese children \r\nkilled by U.S.-made cluster bombs. Bush and \r\n(British Prime Minister Tony) Blair are the \r\nCrusaders, and Muslim leaders, like (Pakistani \r\nPresident Pervez) Musharraf and (Afghani \r\nPresident Hamid) Karzai are their collaborators. \r\nWe will teach a lesson to all of them."\r\n\r\nEl-Shukrijumah was born in Guyana Aug. 4, 1975 \u2013 \r\nthe firstborn of Gulshair el-Shukrijumah, a \r\n44-year-old radical Muslim cleric, and his \r\n16-year-old wife. In 1985, Gulshair migrated to \r\nthe United States, where he assumed duties as the \r\nimam of the Farouq Mosque in Brooklyn.\r\n\r\nThe mosque, located at 554 Atlantic Avenue in \r\nBrooklyn, has served as a hive for terrorist \r\nactivities. It has raised millions for the jihad \r\nand has served as a recruiting station for \r\nal-Qaida. Many of the planners of the 1993 attack \r\non the World Trade Center, including blind Sheikh \r\nOmar Abdel Rahman, were prominent members of this \r\nnotorious "house of worship."\r\n\r\nIn 1995, the Shukrijumah family relocated to \r\nMiramar, Fla., where Gulshair became the \r\nspiritual leader of the radical Masjid al-Hijah \r\nMosque, and where Adnan became friends with Jose \r\nPadilla, who planned to detonate a radiological \r\nbomb in midtown Manhattan; Mandhai Jokhan, who \r\nwas convicted of attempting to blow up nuclear \r\npower plants in southern Florida; and a group of other home-grown terrorists.\r\n\r\nAdnan Shukrijumah attended flight schools in \r\nFlorida and Norman, Oklahoma, along with Mohammad \r\nAtta and the other 9\/11 operatives, and he became \r\na highly skilled commercial jet pilot, although \r\nhe, like Atta and the other terrorists, never \r\napplied for a license with the Federal Aviation Commission.\r\n\r\nIn April 2001, Shukrijumah spent 10 days in \r\nPanama, where he reportedly met with al-Qaida \r\nofficials to assist in the planning of 9\/11. He \r\nalso traveled to Trinidad and Guyana, where \r\nvirulent al-Qaida cells have been established. \r\nThe following month, he obtained an associate's \r\ndegree in computer engineering from Broward Community College.\r\n\r\nDuring this time, he managed to get passports \r\nfrom Guyana, Trinidad, Saudi Arabia, Canada and \r\nthe United States, according to Williams. He also \r\nbegan to adopt a number of aliases, including Abu \r\nArifi, Jafar al-Tayyar, Jaafar At Yayyar, Ja'far \r\nal-Tayar, and Mohammed Sher Mohammed Khan (the \r\nname that appeared on his official FBI file). He \r\ntraveled to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, where he \r\nmet with Ramzi Binalshibh, Khalid Sheikh \r\nMohammed, and other members of the al-Qaida high \r\ncommand. He also spent considerable time within \r\nal-Qaida camps in Afghanistan, where he received \r\ntraining in explosives and special operations.\r\n\r\nFollowing 9\/11, el-Shukrijumah was reportedly \r\nsingled out by bin Laden and al-Zawahiri to \r\nspearhead the next great attack on America. One \r\nplan was for a nuclear attack that would take \r\nplace simultaneously in seven U.S. cities, \r\nleaving millions dead and the richest and most \r\npowerful nation on earth in ashes.\r\n\r\n"Muslims should leave America," said Dawood. "We \r\ncannot stop our attack just because of the \r\nAmerican Muslims; they must realize that American \r\nforces are killing innocent Muslims in \r\nAfghanistan and Iraq; we have the right to \r\nrespond back, in the same manner, in the enemy's \r\nhomeland. The American Muslims are like a human \r\nshield for our enemy; they must leave New York and Washington."\r\n\r\nMir, \r\nthe journalist, has reported previously that \r\nal-Qaida has smuggled nuclear weapons and uranium into the U.S.\r\n\r\n"I am saying that Muslims must leave America, but \r\nwe can attack America anytime," he said. "Our \r\ncycle of warnings has been completed, now we have \r\nfresh edicts from some prominent Muslim scholars \r\nto destroy our enemy, this is our defending of \r\nJihad; the enemy has entered in our homes and we \r\nhave the right to enter in their homes, they are \r\nkilling us, we will kill them."\r\n\r\n","author":"Al Qaida","parent_id":178615,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-09-18 11:30:54","modified":"2013-11-11 00:44:19","fileurl":""},{"id":178890,"heading":"Pre Packaged Psy-Ops\u00ae","article":"As if the NRO, NSA, DIA, CIA. ... don't know where every nuke and most likely every hair on my ball sack is, christ, you assholes are arrogant and stupid to fly this flag. \r\nToo many people know about the treason at the top who gave us your last big terror spectacle. It is funny you know everything about these specters of doom. Like maybe you are part of the operation.\r\nYou want insurrection? Martial law? We know you're ready for it with all your news toys and mercenary armies but you are wrong.\r\nThe truth is a weapon you can not deal with,","author":"al-CIAduh attacks","parent_id":178615,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-09-18 12:33:12","modified":"2013-11-11 00:44:19","fileurl":""}]}