Because of the high density of the material, depleted uranium munitions (DU) are particularly suitable to pierce armor-vehicle or bunkers. They have been used in Kuwait, Iraq, and Kosovo. There are some allegations that they may have been used in Palestine. The analysis of samples gathered from two bomb craters in Khiam and At-Tiri indicates that the Israeli Defense Force probably used some kind of uranium-based weapons in Lebanon last summer. Although Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the use of such weapons, the question of their legality is once more in the spotlight.
"Israel does not use any weaponry which is not authorised by International Law or International Conventions," said Mark Regev, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman. The illegality of a weapon under International Law may result either from the existence of a treaty that specifically bans it and/or from the violation of Law, as well as Customs, of War known together as Humanitarian Law. While the first source of illegality is rather obvious, the second one follows from the so-called "Martens Clause" to the Hague Convention of 1907. Read full story
1 comment:
Great article. It is simply incredible to me that there is even a debate over this. You can't deny the fact that depleted uranium is simply radioactive nuclear waste. I suppose it is up to the person to believe whether DU is safe or not, but there sure is no way to convince me that radioactive nuclear waste is somehow safe.
While they may diminish the potential side effects, which they imply that occurs, you also cannot ignore the harmful side effects that do occur as some cases have shown. I guess it comes down to which side you believe in more.
Can the institutions lie?
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