Currently, there are negotiations in place concerning an international treaty that would ban the use of cluster bombs. The reasoning is that these bombs kill an inordinate number of civilians, and they can explode months or years after they are dropped (similar to land mines).
The three biggest producers of cluster bombs are the United States, Russia, and China. All three of them oppose banning cluster bombs, and all three have veto power on the U.N. Security Council. Worse, none of them have representatives present at the current negotiations.
From the AP:
A senior U.S. official [an assistant secretary of state] said Wednesday that a proposed treaty banning cluster bombs would hurt world security and endanger U.S. military cooperation on humanitarian work with countries that sign the accord.
Imagine that! Humanitarian work is used as the excuse to justify cluster bombs, which children mistake for toys!
Jonathan Stegall is a web designer and emergent / emerging follower of Jesus currently living in Atlanta, seeking to abide in the creative tension between theology, spirituality, design, and justice.
"That is the question at the heart of this crisis, and as we struggle together to answer it, I am convinced that what we don’t need is bigger buildings or fancier sound equipment, better pastors or more parishioners, newer ministries or deeper pockets. What we need is bigger banquet tables."
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