全部 标题 作者
关键词 摘要

OALib Journal期刊
ISSN: 2333-9721
费用：99美元
投递稿件

查看量下载量

相关文章

更多...

Historical Lesson: Environmental and Human Impacts of Cluster Bomb Use by the United States during the Second Indochina War

DOI: 10.4236/ojss.2025.151001, PP. 1-21

Keywords: Cluster Munitions, Ordnance, Bombs, Laos, Cluster Bomblets, US Air Force, Air America, UXO

Full-Text   Cite this paper   Add to My Lib

Abstract:

The legacy of United States cluster munition use in Laos and Cambodia during the Second Indochina War is residual bomblets that unexpectedly detonate years later, killing and injuring children, farmers, and other civilians. Cluster munitions release dozens of smaller bomblets that rain deadly ammunition on troops, armored tanks, and vegetation, effectively striking broad sections of war zone landscapes in one launch. While many bomblets detonate immediately, others fail to detonate and can lie dormant on the ground for years. The primary objectives of this study were to document the long-term consequences and impacts of the US Air Force bombing of Laos and Cambodia during the Second Indochina War (1959 to 1973). The historical lessons learned by United States should be shared with Russia and Ukraine governments and military. These countries need to discontinue the use of cluster bombs to prevent additional people living along the Russia-Ukraine border from having to live and die with the consequences of unexploded ordnance, including cluster bombs, for the next century.

 References

[1]  Olson, K.R. and Speidel, D.R. (2023) United States Secret War in Laos: Long-Term Environmental Impacts of the Use of Chemical Weapons. Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 199-232.
https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.134009
[2]  Carling, P.A. (2009) The Geology of the Lower Mekong River. In: Campbell, I.C., Ed., The Mekong Biophysical Environment of an International River Basin, Elsevier, 13-28.
https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-374026-7.00002-4
[3]  Clift, P.D., Carter, A., Campbell, I.H., Pringle, M.S., Van Lap, N., Allen, C.M., et al. (2006) Thermochronology of Mineral Grains in the Red and Mekong Rivers, Vietnam: Provenance and Exhumation Implications for Southeast Asia. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 7, Q10005.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2006gc001336
[4]  Fenton, C.H., Charusiri, P. and Wood, S.H. (2003) Recent Paleoseismic Investiga-tions in Northern and Western Thailand. Annals of Geophysics, 46, 957-981.
[5]  Olson, K.R. and Morton, L.W. (2018) Water Rights and Fights: Lao Dams on the Mekong River. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 73, 35A-41A.
https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.73.2.35a
[6]  Olson, K.R. (2023) Review and Analysis: United States Cluster Munitions and Unexploded Ordnance Left in Laos after the Second Indochina War. Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 355-369.
https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.138016
[7]  Wright, R. (2016) My Friends Were Afraid of Me: What 80 Million Unexploded US Bombs Did to Laos. CNN.
[8]  Landmine and Clustering Munition Monitor (2022) Lao PDR—Casualties and Victim Assistance.
[9]  Nguyen, L.H.T. (2012) Hanoi’s War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam. University of North Carolina Press.
[10]  The Australian (2011) Vietnam War Shell Explodes, Kills Two Fishermen.
[11]  Loy, I. (2010) Vietnam’s Cluster Bomb Shadow. GlobalPost.
[12]  MacKinnon, I. (2008) Forty Years on, Laos Reaps Bitter Harvest of the Secret War. The Guardian.
[13]  The Huffington Post (2012) Vietnam War Bomb Explodes Killing Four Children.
[14]  Eaton, D. (2010) In Vietnam, Cluster Bombs Still Plague Countryside. GlobalPost.
[15]  Ott, H. (2023) What Is a Cluster Bomb, the Controversial Weapon the U.S. Is Sending to Ukraine?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cluster-bombs-munitions-ukraine-united-states-russia/
[16]  Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Deming (2016) A Guide to Cluster Munitions. 3rd Edition, Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining.
https://www.clusterconvention.org/files/publications/A-Guide-to-Cluster-Munitions.pdf
[17]  Humanity and Inclusion (2015) How Cluster Bombs Work. World Education.
[18]  Wayback Machine (2006) Cluster Weapons; Convenience or Necessity?
[19]  BBC (2016) Laos: Barack Obama Regrets Biggest Bombing in History.
[20]  Center for a New American Security (CNAR) (2016) U.S. Southeast Asian Policy Under President Obama and His Successor.
https://www.cnas.org/publications/blog/u-s-southeast-asian-policy-under-president-obama-and-his-successor/
[21]  Landmine and Clustering Munition Monitor (2017) Lao People’s Democratic Republic Casualties and Victim Assistance.
[22]  NRA (2014) Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report.
[23]  NRA (2010) National Survey of UXO Victims and Accidents Phase 1. 13th International Meeting of National Mine Action Programme Directors and UN Advisors, Geneva, 16 March 2010, ix-x.
[24]  Lao PDR (2013) Statement to Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 15-18 April 2013.
[25]  CMC (2010) CMC Media Coverage Report: First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
[26]  The Lao PDR (2012) Statement of Lao PDR to Third Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Oslo, 12 September 2012; and Mine Ban Treaty Voluntary Article 7 Report, Form J.
[27]  Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg (2015) Luxembourg—The Lao PDR Indicative Cooperation Programme 2011-2015.
[28]  Lao PDR (2014) Statement of the Lao PDR to Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, 9 April 2014.
[29]  Lao PDR (2015) Victim Assistance Statements. Convention on Cluster Munitions First Review Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 7-11 September 2015.
[30]  The Lao PDR (2015) UNDP, UXO Sector Working Group Approves New Strategy.
[31]  NRA (2015) HRTM 2015: UXO Sector Working Group Progress Report.
[32]  NRA (2013) UXO/Mine Victim Assistance Strategy 2014-2020 and NRA, UXO Sector Annual Report 2013.
[33]  The Lao PDR (2015) Notes from Monitor Field Mission to the Lao PDR, 11-12 June 2015.
[34]  Durham, J., Sychareun, V., Santisouk, P. and Chaleunvong, K. (2016) Users’ Satisfaction with Prosthetic and Orthotic Assistive Devices in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic: A Cross-Sectional Study. Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development, 27, 24-44.
https://doi.org/10.5463/dcid.v27i3.553
[35]  Lao PDR (2014) Universal Periodic Review (UPR 18). Stakeholders Report Prepared by Lao Disability Network, LDPA, Lao PDR.
[36]  UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) (2015) Civil Society Organization Report to the Second Session of the Working Group on the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022.
[37]  RFE/RL (2014) Rights Ground Accuses Kyiv of Using Cluster Munitions.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/20/ukraine-widespread-use-cluster-munitions/
[38]  Al Mayadeen English (2023) Ukraine Used Cluster Munitions on Donetsk Universi-ty.
[39]  BBC News (2022) Russia Uses Cluster Munitions in Ukraine. Why Are They So Dangerous?
[40]  Rivas, R., Taylor, A., Roque, R. and Taylor, U. (2022) Russia Is Accused of Using Cluster Rockets in Ukraine. Why Those Weapons Are So Destructive. The Wall Street Journal.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-is-accused-of-using-cluster-rockets-in-ukraine-why-those-weapons-are-so-destructive-11646994602?msockid=29edc32968c466240d56d62f69a56731/
[41]  Union News (2022) Ukraine War: Russia Used Cluster Weapons at Least 24 Times, Says UN’s Bachelet.
[42]  United National Human Rights Council (2022) Update on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine (PDF). Ukraine.
[43]  The Guardian (2022) Ukraine Destruction: How the Guardian Documented Russia’s Use of Illegal Weapons. The Guardian.
[44]  The Monitor (2022) Cluster Munition Monitor 2022 (PDF). Cluster Munition Coalition.
[45]  Deutsche Welle (DW) (2022) Report: Russia Uses Cluster Bombs ‘Extensively’.
[46]  Ganguly, M. and Inwood, J. (2022) Ukraine War: What Weapon Killed 50 People in Station Attack? BBC News.
[47]  BBC News (2022) Anatomy of an Attack: Is Russia Using Cluster Bombs in Ukraine? BBC News.
[48]  Docherty, B. (2022) Russia’s Use of Cluster Munitions and Other Explosive Weapons Shows Need for Stronger Civilian Protections. Human Rights Watch.
[49]  Laurie, J. (2023) As Ukraine Uses Cluster Munitions, a 50-Year-Old Lesson It Must Remember. Al Jazeera.
[50]  Olson, K.R. and Speidel, D.R. (2023) Review and Analysis: United States Secret Wars in Cambodia: Long-Term Impacts and Consequences. Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 295-328.
https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.137013

Full-Text

Contact Us

service@oalib.com

QQ:3279437679

WhatsApp +8615387084133