REMEMBER DUMB BOMBS?

You know, as opposed to "smart" bombs? Well, we're still dropping them.

The United States is showering targets in Iraq with the most unpredictable weapons in its arsenal: tiny cluster bombs so deadly they can demolish a tank, but so erratic they can take years to blow up.

The U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar, said it is investigating reports that cluster bombs killed at least 11 civilians in Hillah, a city 60 miles south of Baghdad and the scene of heavy fighting.

The military acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that cluster bombs were being deployed. Human rights groups have called for their ban, and their use during the campaign to oust Saddam Hussein is particularly sensitive because of the stated aim of the U.S.-led force to minimize civilian casualties.

According to the article, the US denies targeting civilians. But um, that's not the point. A good strawman, yes, but not the point; the thing with cluster bombs isn't that they target civilians, but above all other bombs we are employing in Iraq, cluster bombs just can't help but hit civilians. Not only that, but they have a very high dud rate, which also poses a serious long-term threat to civilians.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the Bushies could accomplish the disarmament of Saddam Hussein without cluster bombs being used. Not using them is in the interest of Iraqi civilians, of whom we claim to be the advocates. Don't you just love compassionate conservatives?