A U.S. Defense Department memo says the United States will begin usingcluster bombs that pose less danger to civilians, after internationalpressure to change its use of the controversial weapon.
Athree-page Defense Department memo requires that, effective in 2018, 99percent all the bomblets dispersed by a cluster bomb would detonate onimpact.
Cluster bombs explode in mid-air and scatter hundreds ofsmaller bombs over a wide area. Currently bomblets that do not explodeon impact can remain active for years, often killing or maimingunsuspecting civilians.
The Defense Department memo says theUnited States will also begin reducing its inventory of cluster bombsthat do not meet the new safety requirements.
The change wasmade after the United States boycotted a May conference in Dublin,during which 111 countries agreed to ban the use of cluster bombs.
TheUnited States opposed the ban saying cluster bombs are an effectiveweapon that can help save the lives of both soldiers and civilians.
TheDublin Treaty requires countries to destroy their cluster bombstockpiles within eight years, stop selling cluster bombs anddiscourage their use.