As a previous discussion in my
diary has shown, there is indeed a great demand for details about Cluster bombs and why they disqualify Wesley Clark from being the democratic nominee.
The Case
As NATO Supreme Commander, Wesley Clark was not responsible for the political processes that led to the political decision to intervene in the Kosovo, at that time a part of the Former Yugoslavia under Milosevic. Wesley Clark should not be hold responsible for the inadequate political preparation and strategic "wisdom" that created a situation in which NATO was trying to get control of a developing humanitarian crisis on the ground with the sole use of air forces. Indeed, he argued for the use of ground forces (at that time, the estimates were 500.000 soldiers intervening through Hungary)
As NATO Supreme Commander, Wesley Clark was in charge of the military activity. He was at the top of NATO's chain of command, only responsible to the NATO council. Therefore he bares the ultimate responsibility for every military operation of NATO.
NATO's precision bombing in Yugoslavia, especially in Belgrade and Banja Luka, has been successful and did indeed happen at the cost of minimum civilian casualties. (remember the Chinese Embassy, though; a terrible mistake). In the Province of Kosovo however, the loss of civilians has been significantly higher. Human Rights Watch concludes: "Human Rights Watch found no evidence of war crimes in its investigation of NATO bombing in Kosovo. The investigation did conclude, however, that NATO violated international humanitarian law."
A key weapon used by NATO in the war were "Cluster Bombs". What is a Cluster bomb?
The International Red Cross: "A cluster bomb is a metal canister dropped from an aircraft. At a pre-set altitude or after a specific time delay, the canister opens and ejects many dozens or hundreds of bomblets into the air. The bomblets then fall to the ground, sometimes with the help of a parachute, where they are meant to explode upon impact. [...] Nato has confirmed that, in total, 1,392 cluster bombs, containing 289,532 bomblets were targeted against 333 strike sites inside Kosovo."
Why is the effect of cluster bombs so inhumane and long-term disastrous? The ICRC:
"A major threat to human life is the large number of unexploded bomblets that remain behind long after the conflict has ended. A Canadian military engineer involved in the clearance operation declared that cluster bomlets are `not technically a landmine but they do the same job when they're sitting on the ground... They've been the biggest hazard.' [...]
The exact number of these duds or blinds as unexploded bomblets are referred to, is not known, although NATO itself estimated that 10 per cent (...) that is, roughly 30.000 out of 289.536 bomblets - would not go off, leaving (...) a lethal hazard for the civilian population."
Already by the end of 2000 a total of 151 people had been injured or killed from the reminents of the cluster bombs, with an average age of 22 years. This low age indicates, according to the ICRC that especially children were hit. If you check the ICRC report (link will be provided at the end), you will find more detailed statistics and case studies of incidents.
The long-term effect of cluster-bombs are not only the deaths and the injuries they cause. The ICRC:
Generally, though, each bomb can be expected to leave a footprint in the shape of an ellipse and the size of several hundres metres. The wide area contamination has obvious environmental consequences as the area must be painstakingly cleared, including below the ground, as a number of bomblets penetrate below the surface up to a depth of 50 centimetres."
As the Kosovaren economy is based on agriculture, this also has a lasting impact on the socio-economic recovery.
Those, that would still argue the use of cluster bombs might serve legitimate military purposes, should look at the fact that, from my point of view, actually establishes a violation of international humanitarian law:
The ICRC:
"Some mine clearance personnel have found canisters, the warranties of which expired in the mid- 1980s"
Even though regular inspections took place, I believe that by the use of "old bombs" the risk of a greater contamination and more civilian casualties was inaccepably increased.
As NATO Commander in Chief, Wesley Clark accepted the use of this weapon, even though Human Rights organizations criticized this at the time. Instead, NATO talked about "collateral damage".
Conclusion
This responsibility disqualifies Wesley Clark from being a democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States.
Please note:
- I supported the Kosovo war. And this should not be a discussion about "how bad Bosnia was and that one had to act". I know this, even if I disagree with a lot of what has been told by mainstream media about the situation in Kosovo prior to 1999.
- Don't turn this into a "there is no war without civilian casualties so let's move on..." debate, too. This is obvious, but the number of civilian casualties has to be minimized. That's the opposite of what happened here. Click here for a list of the names of the civilian casualties. They have a name, too.
- Check the background, by reading the International Red Cross Report (.pdf!) and the Human Rights Watch Report.
And I am interested in your opinion, too.