...the International Community tries to tell the U.S. (and other countries) how to fight wars. I was reading the news today, and there was a story about a group of 100 nations meeting in Ireland to work on some sort of U.N.-recognized anti-cluster bomb treaty. As with earlier treaties dealing with such weapons as anti-personnel landmines, they feel that by outlawing cluster bombs, the world will be a much safer place (with rainbows, unicorns, and all that other bullshit). In reality, what they're really doing is tying out hands behind out back, and making it much more difficult to fight a modern war.

Steve Goose, director of the arms division at the New York-based Human Rights Watch commented that "It is regrettable that the U.S. and a handful of other states continue to insist on their need to use a weapon that the rest of world is banning."

No, Sir, it is regrettable that the U.S. (and certain allies) must continue to fight wars while the rest of you just sit back and watch. Could you please tell me what you'd have us do in our own defense? Shall we go back to using black powder muskets? No, that wouldn't work, because black powder causes pollution, and then we'd have the environmentalists on our ass. That, and musket balls produce terribly grievous wounds, and Human Rights Watch (along with the Hague Accords) already dealt with that...but I digress.

Maybe we can work on some sort of compromise...let us use our cluster bombs and landmines, and following the end of hostilities (whenever that may be), they'll get cleaned up. Now, now...I can hear you saying "But 'Yote, that will take a lot of work!" This is true - but there are a lot of specialized groups out there that are trained to handle just this sort of thing. Gotta make money somehow, right?

Moral of the story - leave us alone with our work, or we'll cluster bomb your ass. It's simple!