Join the National Call- In Day March 30th
This is what our Friends at Friends Committee on National Legislation are saying:
"When nearly 100 nations – including Britain, France, and Germany – gathered in early December to sign a global treaty banning cluster bombs, the U.S. was conspicuously absent. And yet, the U.S. has been the world's biggest user of these weapons, which always end up killing more civilians than soldiers.
"President Obama and Congress can fix U.S. policy. In fact, they have already started. In March, Congress passed a law permanently banning exports of nearly all U.S.-made cluster bombs.
"Now we need Congress to act to prevent any further use by U.S. troops.
"Call your senators on Monday, March 30 and ask them to co-sponsor the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act, S. 416. This legislation would prohibit the U.S. from using any cluster bombs that leave behind an unacceptably large number of landmine-like "dud" cluster submunitions – small bombs that keep on killing. It would also prohibit any use of these weapons in areas that are normally populated with civilians. Growing support from the Senate will show President Obama that he has the public's backing to sign this treaty and send it to the Senate for ratification!"
The General Assembly's guidelines for military-related investment, adopted in 1982 and most recently revised in 1998, include particular concern over weapons that do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.