Subject: RE: [Fwd: Cluster bombs and food packages]
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2001 09:28:00 -0600


Here's the horrifying email steve's referring to--shall we have a group
puke in response?
~ddd

Subject: ARTICLE: U.S. Warns Afghans of Yellow Cluster Bomblets

U.S. Warns Afghans of Yellow Cluster Bomblets

by Deborah Zabarenko
October 29, 2001
Reuters

U.S. radio broadcasts into Afghanistan now include a
safety warning:

    airdropped food parcels are square, unexploded
    cluster bombs are can-shaped, and both are yellow,
    so it is important to tell them apart.

"Attention people of Afghanistan!" the broadcasts in
Persian and Pashto say. "As you may have heard, the
Partnership of Nations is dropping yellow Humanitarian
Daily Rations. The rations are square-shaped and are
packaged in plastic.

"They are full of good nutritious, Halal food,"
prepared according to Islamic precepts. "In areas far
from where we are dropping food, we are dropping
cluster bombs," the radio spots say, according to a
transcript obtained on Monday. "Although it is
unlikely, it is possible that not every bomb will
explode on impact. These bombs are a yellow color and
are can-shaped ...

"Once again, we will not be using these bombs in areas
near where we are dropping relief supplies. Please,
please exercise caution when approaching unidentified
yellow objects in areas that have been recently
bombed."

Cluster bombs are meant to hit so-called soft targets,
including people and vehicles. Cluster bombs can
contain many bomblets that disperse as they drop, and
it is these that might be mistaken for food packages.
Bomblets that fail to explode on impact could well
blow up if disturbed on the ground. The ones mentioned
in the radio spot are cylindrical, measuring about 2.5
inches by 6.5 inches, some with a yellow "tail" on
top. Each Humanitarian Daily Ration (HDR) is
approximately 7 inches by 13 inches.

The radio warning is a departure from other broadcasts
in the area delivered in a U.S. operation named
"Commando Solo." Transcripts of these broadcasts
released earlier by the Pentagon showed they were
aimed at members of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban,
believed by Washington to be harboring Osama bin Laden
and his al Qaeda guerrillas. Washington holds bin
Laden responsible for the Sept. 11 hijack attacks on
the United States that killed some 4,800 people, and
blames the Taliban for harboring him.

"When you decide to surrender, approach United States
forces with your hands in the air," an earlier radio
message said. "Sling your weapons across your back,
muzzle toward the ground. Remove your magazine and
expel any rounds. Doing this is your only chance of
survival."

As of Monday, U.S. military planes had dropped some
960,000 HDR food packages on Afghanistan. The yellow-
wrapped 2,000-calorie meatless bundles are a key
propaganda component of President Bush's war against
terrorism. The Bush administration has stressed that
the United States is not at war with the people of
Afghanistan. As airstrikes continued for a 23rd day on
Monday, so did the delivery of airdropped HDRs,
Defense Department officials said.

Copyright C 2001 Reuters Limited.

____________________________________________
  D. Diane Davis
  Division of Rhetoric and Composition
  Department of English
  University of Texas at Austin
  PARLIN 227  (512-471-8765)
  Austin TX 78712-1122

  ddd-AT-mail.utexas.edu
  http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~davis


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu [mailto:owner-
> lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu] On Behalf Of
steve.devos-AT-krokodile.com
> Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2001 2:23 PM
> To: 'Spencer-Jones Chris (QEC)'; sbrockbank-AT-masergy.com;
> lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu; Nina Dluzewska; Andrew Skeet
> Subject: [Fwd: Cluster bombs and food packages]
> 
> sic!
> 
> "BBC World Service have said that the US military have made a
broadcast telling
> the people in Afghanistan not to mistake cluster bombs for food
packages. Both
> are the same colour  -yellow.
> "
> 
> a quote from an email just recieved...
> 
> s