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U.S. Offers Lesson on How to Tell Cluster Bombs From Food Packs [1]

['Deborah Zabarenko']

Date: 2001-10-30

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. Cut through the 2024 election noise. Get The Campaign Moment newsletter. ArrowRight "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 yesterday.

"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. . . .

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"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."

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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.

"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 towards the ground. Remove your magazine and expel any rounds. Doing this is your only chance of survival."

As of yesterday, 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. His administration has stressed that the United States is not at war with the people of Afghanistan.

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[1] Url: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/10/30/us-offers-lesson-on-how-to-tell-cluster-bombs-from-food-packs/ed53c106-64a3-4124-8f9a-71b5f25395a7/

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