ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS CLUSTER BOMBS WERE NECESSARY

Who is in charge of public relations for the Olmert government of Israel? Whoever it is should be axed forthwith. Witness the PR disaster of the Israeli military trying publicly to defend its indefensible use of cluster bombs in a thirty mile swath during the last 72 hours of the Israel-Lebanon War.

The BBC web site reports:

"Israeli military prosecutors say the army's much-criticised deployment of cluster bombs in last year's Lebanon war was legal under international law.

"The Israeli army announced there would be no indictments against officers who used them, after a year-long enquiry.

""The use of the weaponry was a concrete military necessity," a statement said.

"The UN called Israel's cluster bombing "shocking and immoral," as most were used in the last 72 hours of fighting when a resolution was clearly imminent."

Instead of confessing and admitting causing a humanitarian catastrophe by dropping cluster bombs in the last 72 hours of the War, Israeli authorities are trying to defend and legitimize this militaristic disaster.

We can guess about Israel's purpose of carpeting thirty miles of Lebanon adjacent to the border with Israel with deadly cluster bombs, many of which remain hidden in fields and orchards. It was to prevent militants from sneaking up to the border and shooting missiles or rockets into Israel. The question is, was dropping cluster bombs proportional and the minimal use of force necessary to prevent such future attacks?

It is hard to understand Israel's defense of cluster bombs when you hear of dozens of Lebanese children playing in their backyards, picking up the bomblets as if they were toys, and then getting their hands or feet blown off or being blinded for life.