Cluster bombs and clarification

Yesterday I posted on the use of cluster bombs in Georgia by Russia - or what appeared to be the use of those weapons by Russia. That post was based in large part on reports by Human Rights Watch. Later in the day I was clued in by commenter jawbone to a debunking of some of those claims by HRW. Bernhard at Moon of Alabama has posted an analysis of an image hosted by HRW supposedly displaying the remnants of a Russian RBK-250 cluster bomb. Bernhard states that the debris has been misidentified and cannot be that of an RBK-250; the conclusion is echoed by Russian blogger Venik4 at Let me tell you….

Additionally, Bernhard identifies submunitions reportedly found on the ground in and around Shindisi in Georgia’s Gori district as bring of Western origin rather than Russian. The analysis provided by Bernhard and Venik4 is convincing, particularly in light of the admission of the Georgian government that it has used cluster weapons in the recent conflict with Russia. Georgia maintains, however, that it has not utilized the particular weapon type in question “at any time during the hostilities or afterwards.”

HRW has walked back on its identification as Russian of cluster submunitions found in Shindisi and Pkhvenisi on August 20, but defends earlier findings that Russia used aerial cluster bombs in attacks against the village of Ruisi and the town of Gori.

Cluster munitions are terrible weapons regardless of who deploys them, and the push to outlaw them is a moral cause. However, that cause is undermined by inaccurate claims. It is to hoped that better vetting of these claims in future is an imperative for organizations like Human Rights Watch, and by bloggers like myself.

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