The M85 cluster bomb in Lebanon: "about 1200 fragments dispersed over a large lethal area"

of course, it's not just lebanon... these vicious instruments of maiming, permanent disability and death are in use all over the world... lebanon just so happens to be one of the countries most heavily carpeted with them...

(note: i posted both this past february and in may on cluster bombs...)

Lebanon has a devastating cluster bomb problem. Hit hard during the final days of last summer's conflict with Israel, hundreds of thousands of unexploded munitions are strewn throughout the south's rural towns and fertile fields and valleys. Although there have been 255 civilian and de-mining casualties to date, official requests for Israel's cluster bomb strike data have gone unanswered.

"The reality of the situation is we simply don't know how many there are, and we will never know until the Israelis tell us how many they fired," says Chris Clark, the United Nations programme manager for the Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC), the official body tasked with coordinating munitions clearance with the Lebanese Army in the south.

So far the clearance teams working under the MACC have destroyed over 131,000 cluster bombs. While U.S. munitions manufactured in the 1970s and 1980s are the majority found and destroyed, Israeli M85 cluster munition strikes have been discovered mostly in fields and towns like Blida along the Blue Line, the UN demarcated border between Israel and Lebanon.

Stockpiled by the U.S., Britain and Germany among others, the M85 cluster bomb is shaped like a miniature tin can with a white ribbon on top that spins to load the bomb once it's airborne. While older versions have a single fuse, the current model is equipped with a second; a 'safety' fuse that detonates automatically if the initial one fails.

[...]

ts manufacturers cite the contemporary M85's failure rate at less than one percent -- results that countries like Britain hold up for justifying their continued use. However, independent studies since conducted in 'real' -- as opposed to laboratory -- conditions have determined the figure to be more like 5 to 10 percent. [note: Landmine Action M85 Cluster Bomb Fact Sheet here - PDF]

Clark seconds this finding. "What we have established here (in Lebanon) is that the average failure rate is at least 6 percent. So for the users of this system to continue to use them on a basis that they have a negligible failure rate is clearly foolish."

The push to ban cluster munitions worldwide by 2008 was kicked off in Oslo earlier this year. Spearheaded by the Britain-based Cluster Munition Coalition representing hundreds of civil society groups, the conferences have successfully recruited 80 countries -- including producers, users and stockpilers -- to sign on so far.

But top weapons manufacturers and exporters -- the U.S., China and Russia -- are staying away, and Britain, although a participant, is fighting hard for the exclusion of the M85 from the ban.

a little bit about one of the m85 manufacturers, israeli military industries...

The rising threats of terror and asymmetric warfare pose new challenges for national security in the 21st century. To effectively confront these perils, military and security forces must respond and transform, based on the rapid assessment of new threats, determinaton of doctrinal and operational requirements, acquisition of new equipment and training of qualified manpower.

As one of the world’s leading international defense industries, Israel Military Industries (IMI) is uniquely positioned to support such adaptation processes. IMI, a diversified, hi-tech company, offers its domestic and international customers a unique range of world-class defense products and systems to meet the changing operational requirements of today’s challenging environment. With its specializations in the development, manufacture and deployment of a wide range of state-of-the-art combat-ready solutions, IMI has established itself as a leading global defense contractor.

and here's the product in question, the "M85 Dual-Purpose Bomblet"... note the claim: "about 1200 fragments dispersed over a large lethal area"...

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