I received two emails about cluster bombs in response to my comments on them the other day. Both of them noted a danger inherent to the use of cluster bombs that I left out — the fact that usually some of the bombs in the cluster are duds. Rather than exploding when the bomb is initially dropped, they lay on the ground waiting for some unfortunate soul to come into contact with them. These unexploded munitions remain an indefinite risk, like land mines. In fact, some cluster bombs are used to deliver land mines rather than standard bomblets. (I really hope we’re not using that type in Afghanistan, which is already one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.) The second thing is that cluster bombs are not just an anti-personnel weapon. They can be used for taking out vehicles and structures that aren’t hardened, rendering airstrips useless, and for other such tasks.