Mumbai Terror attacks prompts India to seek cluster bombs
India has sought over 500 advanced technology cluster bombs from the US. This is a clear sign that the government wants to arm itself to take on large targets, including terrorist camps.
Cluster bombs attracted controversies during their extended use in Iraq, Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia.
India requested for them in September.But, after the Mumbai terror attacks, South Block has asked the Pentagon to fast-track the request, sources said.
According to documents listing India's request - an exclusive copy of which lies with Headlines Today - India has specifically asked the US to provide 510 units of the American CBU-105 cluster bomb and full logistics support services. If Washington approves of the sale, it will cost New Delhi $375 million (Rs 1,700 crore).
Headlines Today also has a copy of the notification made by Pentagon's foreign arms sales division to the US Congress about India's request and proposed sale.
According to it: "This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the US by helping to strengthen the US-India strategic relationship and to improve the security of an important partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in South Asia."
Cluster bombs are a conglomeration of weapons. When released from an aircraft, they splinter into hundreds, even thousands, of individual 'bomblets'. These land over a large geographic area. The technique is also called carpet bombing.
All bomblets don't explode when they hit the ground. But they can go off later.
This creates an indefinite minefield which poses a severe threat to civilians and children long after the conflict is over.
Former Indian Air Force Western Commander Air Marshal V. K. Bhatia said: "The CBU-105 that India is looking at is an improved cluster bomb. Unlike the older ones, it is sensor-fused and guided by global positioning systems.
"Their effectiveness against terror camps is still debatable. But that they are lethal is beyond doubt."
Cluster bombs, like landmines, continue to be deeply controversial in the global arms control discourse. They are notorious for their indiscriminate nature of destruction and for the collateral damage they cause in almost all war theatres where they have been used.
Control Arms Foundation of India vice-president Anuradha Chenoy said: "These weapons are extremely dangerous. They continue to be harmful for civilians, especially children, long after a conflict and they should be prohibited across the world.
"India should base its anti-terror policies on intelligence, not cluster bombs." On December 3, the UN opened the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) to ban their use across the world.
So far, 94 countries have signed the CCM - including countries like Afghanistan, Laos and Lebanon - that have suffered the consequences of their use.
The prominent countries which have either opposed the convention or refused to sign or ratify it include India, Pakistan, the US, Israel, Russia and China.
Courtesy: Mail Today
