New Cluster Bomb Policy Aims to Reduce Collateral Damage

WASHINGTON --- The Defense Department today announced new standards for cluster bombs to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure from the unintended consequences of unexploded munitions.>> Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates signed the policy that aims to reduce collateral effects of cluster munitions used to pursue legitimate military objectives.>> The new policy is designed to eliminate the number of bomblets dispersed by cluster bombs that dont explode on impact, explained Air Force Lt. Col. Almarah Belk, a Pentagon spokeswoman. It sets new safety standards that, by 2018, would require 99 percent of all bomblets to explode on contact.>> The military will begin reducing its inventory of cluster bombs that dont meet that standard as soon as possible, and will stop using them altogether by 2018, the policy notes.>> The new policy is designed to eliminate the chance that the bombs could remain active and pose a potential threat to civilians on the ground after the hostilities, Belk said.>> A State Department white paper attributed fewer than 400 casualties to cluster bombs in 2006. Intent on reducing these numbers, the Defense Department launched a year-long review of its previous cluster munitions policy, Belk said.>> The new policy strikes a critical balance between operational requirements and safety concerns, she said. The United States believes that the new cluster munitions policy will provide better protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure following a conflict, while allowing the retention of a legitimate and useful weapon, she said.