Inquiry Opened Into
Israeli Use of U.S. Bombs
By DAVID S. CLOUD,
NYTimes on the Web, August 25, 2006
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The New York Times |
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 -- The State
Department is investigating whether Israel’s use of American-made cluster bombs
in southern Lebanon violated secret agreements with the United States that
restrict when it can employ such weapons, two officials said.
The investigation by the department’s Office of Defense Trade Controls began
this week, after reports that three types of American cluster munitions,
anti-personnel weapons that spray bomblets over a wide area, have been found in
many areas of southern Lebanon and were responsible for civilian casualties.
Gonzalo Gallegos, a State Department spokesman, said, “We have heard the
allegations that these munitions were used, and we are seeking more
information.” He declined to comment further.
Several current and former officials said that they doubted the investigation
would lead to sanctions against Israel but that the decision to proceed with it
might be intended to help the Bush administration ease criticism from Arab
governments and commentators over its support of Israel’s military operations.
The investigation has not been publicly announced; the State Department
confirmed it in response to questions.
In addition to investigating use of the weapons in southern Lebanon, the State
Department has held up a shipment of M-26 artillery rockets, a cluster weapon,
that Israel sought during the conflict, the officials said.
The inquiry is likely to focus on whether Israel properly informed the United
States about its use of the weapons and whether targets were strictly military.
So far, the State Department is relying on reports from United Nations personnel
and nongovernmental organizations in southern Lebanon, the officials said.
David Siegel, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy, said, “We have not been
informed about any such inquiry, and when we are we would be happy to respond.”
Officials were granted anonymity to discuss the investigation because it
involves sensitive diplomatic issues and agreements that have been kept secret
for years.
The agreements that govern Israel’s use of American cluster munitions go back to
the 1970’s, when the first sales of the weapons occurred, but the details of
them have never been publicly confirmed. The first one was signed in 1976
and later reaffirmed in 1978 after an Israeli incursion into Lebanon. News
accounts over the years have said that they require that the munitions be used
only against organized Arab armies and clearly defined military targets under
conditions similar to the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973.
A Congressional investigation after Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon found that
Israel had used the weapons against civilian areas in violation of the
agreements. In response, the Reagan administration imposed a six-year ban
on further sales of cluster weapons to Israel.
Israeli officials acknowledged soon after their offensive began last month that
they were using cluster munitions against rocket sites and other military
targets. While Hezbollah positions were frequently hidden in civilian
areas, Israeli officials said their intention was to use cluster bombs in open
terrain.
Bush administration officials warned Israel to avoid civilian casualties, but
they have lodged no public protests against its use of cluster weapons.
American officials say it has not been not clear whether the weapons, which are
also employed by the United States military, were being used against civilian
areas and had been supplied by the United States. Israel also makes its
own types of cluster weapons.
But a report released Wednesday by the United Nations Mine Action Coordination
Center, which has personnel in Lebanon searching for unexploded ordnance, said
it had found unexploded bomblets, including hundreds of American types, in 249
locations south of the Litani River.
The report said American munitions found included 559 M-42’s, an anti-personnel
bomblet used in 105-millimeter artillery shells; 663 M-77’s, a submunition found
in M-26 rockets; and 5 BLU-63’s, a bomblet found in the CBU-26 cluster bomb.
Also found were 608 M-85’s, an Israeli-made submunition.
The unexploded submunitions being found in Lebanon are probably only a fraction
of the total number dropped. Cluster munitions can contain dozens or even
hundreds of submunitions designed to explode as they scatter around a wide area.
They are very effective against rocket-launcher units or ground troops.
The Lebanese government has reported that the conflict killed 1,183 people and
wounded 4,054, most of them civilians. The United Nations reported this
week that the number of civilian casualties in Lebanon from cluster munitions,
land mines and unexploded bombs stood at 30 injured and eight killed.
Dozen of Israelis were killed and hundreds wounded in attacks by Hezbollah
rockets, some of which were loaded with ball bearings to maximize their
lethality.
Officials say it is unlikely that Israel will be found to have violated a
separate agreement, the Arms Export Control Act, which requires foreign
governments that receive American weapons to use them for legitimate
self-defense. Proving that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah did not
constitute self-defense would be difficult, especially in view of President
Bush’s publicly announced support for Israel’s action after Hezbollah fighters
attacked across the border, the officials said.
Even if Israel is found to have violated the classified agreement covering
cluster bombs, it is not clear what actions the United States might take.
In 1982, delivery of cluster-bomb shells to Israel was suspended a month after
Israel invaded Lebanon after the Reagan administration determined that Israel
“may” have used them against civilian areas.
But the decision to impose what amounted to a indefinite moratorium was made
under pressure from Congress, which conducted a long investigation of the issue.
Israel and the United States reaffirmed restrictions on the use of cluster
munitions in 1988, and the Reagan administration lifted the moratorium.
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