.

"Representatives from more than 100 countries have gathered at a conference in Dublin, Ireland's capital, in an attempt to agree a global ban on the use of cluster bombs.

However, China, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia and the United States, all major producers and stockpilers of cluster bombs, are not taking part in the 12-day conference.

The US has said that it favours non-binding guidelines on the use of the weapon. [...]

Israel used cluster bombs widely during the 2006 war in Lebanon and many were left behind following a ceasefire between the two countries.

The Cluster Munition Coalition, a network of around 200 civil society organisations aiming at banning the weapons, has said that there were more than 200 civilian casualties in Lebanon in the year after the ceasefire as a result of cluster bombs."

Don't you just seethe at the sheer hypocrisy of it all: on one hand, the US is so critical of the use of force by alleged 'terrorists' (Hizbullah, Hamas, Tamil Tigers etc), but on the other hand they don't even dare to show their faces at a conference that aims to ban once of the most indiscriminate weapons in existence. Now, im not defending the use of force/violence by any of the aforementioned groups, but it pisses me off that on one hand they are immutable in their stance that demonizes and denies negotiating privileges to those who use violence out of desperation, and not those for whom the use of violence is a frivolous afterthought and a method of collective punishment. I really find it sickening.