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'''''Salammbô''''' is an [[opera]] in four acts composed by [[Ernest Reyer]] to a [[French language|French]] [[libretto]] by [[Camille du Locle]]. It is based on the novel ''[[Salammbô (novel)|Salammbô]]'' by [[Gustave Flaubert]]. The opera was first performed at the [[La Monnaie|Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie]] in [[Brussels]] on [[February 10]] [[1890]]. It debuted at the [[Metropolitan Opera]] in [[New York City]] on [[March 20]], [[1901]].
[[Image:Demonstration cluster bomb.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Honest John missile]] warhead cutaway, showing M139 [[Sarin]] bomblets (photo circa 1960)]]
==Characters==
'''Cluster munitions''' are air-dropped or ground launched shells that eject multiple small submunitions (bomblets). Their primary purpose is to kill enemy infantry, although specialized weapons designed for anti-[[runway]], [[anti-tank|anti-armor]] and [[land mine|mine-scattering]] purposes have also been developed.
*Salammbô (Soprano), Hamilcar's daughter
*Shahabarim (Tenor), High Priest of Tanit
*Narr'Havas (Basse chantante), King of Numidia
*Giscon (Bass), Carthaginian general
*Mathô (Tenor), Lybian mercenary
*Hamilcar (Baritone), Carthaginian Suffete
*Spendius (Baritone), Greek slave
*Autharite (Bass), Gaulish mercenary
*Taanach (Mezzo-soprano), Salammbo's servant
==DevelopmentSetting==
*Place: [[Carthage]]
Cluster bombs were developed in order to improve the efficiency of aerial attacks, particularly against "soft" targets like personnel. Single bombs are less useful for this purpose because they cover a smaller area (known as a "footprint" in military parlance), and their effectiveness is dependent on the accuracy of the bomb's drop. A cluster bomb functions like a [[shotgun]], covering a wider area with a spread of miniature bombs.
*Time: 240 BC
==Other opera adaptations==
The first cluster bomb used operationally was the [[Nazi Germany|German]] SD-2 or ''Sprengbombe Dickwandig 2 kg'', commonly referred to as the [[Butterfly Bomb]]. It was used during the [[World War II|Second World War]] to attack both civilian and military targets. The technology was developed independently by the [[United States of America]], [[Russia]] and [[Italy]] (see [[Thermos Bomb]]). Cluster bombs are now standard air-dropped munitions for most nations, in a wide variety of types.
In [[1863]], [[Modest Mussorgsky]] also started writing text and music for an opera based on Flaubert's novel, but he never managed to complete the work.
For the film score of [[Orson Welles]]' ''[[Citizen Kane]]'', [[Bernard Herrmann]] wrote an aria for the fictional opera ''Salammbô'' performed by Kane's wife.
[[Artillery]] shells that employ similar principles have existed for decades. They are typically referred to as '''ICM''' ('''Improved Conventional Munitions''') shells. The US military slang terms for them are "firecracker" or "popcorn" shells, for the many small explosions they cause in the target area.
Contemporary French composer [[Philippe Fénélon]]'s ''Salammbô'' was first performed in the [[Opéra Bastille]] in [[1998]].
==Types of cluster bombs==
[[Image:BLU-3 Pineapple Cluster bomblet.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A US Vietnam era BLU-3 cluster bomblet.]]
A basic cluster bomb is a hollow shell (generally [[Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines|streamlined]] if intended for carriage by fast aircraft) containing anywhere from three to more than 2,000 submunitions. Some types are dispensers that are designed to be retained by the aircraft after releasing their munitions. The submunitions themselves may be fitted with small [[parachute]] retarders or [[streamer]]s to slow their descent (allowing the aircraft to escape the blast area in low-altitude attacks).
[[Category:Operas by Ernest Reyer]]
[[Incendiary bomb|Incendiary cluster bombs]], also called [[firebomb]]s, are designed to start fires. They are generally are specifically designed for this purpose, with payloads of [[white phosphorus]] or [[napalm]], but they are often combined with a payload of anti-personnel and anti-tank submunition to make firefighting efforts more difficult. When used in cities they were often preceded by the use of conventional explosive bombs to break open the roofs and walls of buildings to expose flamable contents for the incindiaries. This type of munition was extensively used by both sides in the [[Strategic bombing during World War II|strategic bombings of World War II]]. It was bombs of this type that were used to start [[firestorms]] such as those in [[Bombing of Dresden in World War II|Dresden]] and [[firebombing of Tokyo|Tokyo]].
[[Category:French-language operas]]
[[Category:1901 operas]]
[[Category:Operas]]
{{opera-stub}}
Anti-personnel cluster bombs use explosive [[fragmentation]] to kill troops and destroy soft (unarmored) targets. Along with [[Incendiary bomb|Incendiary cluster bombs]], these were among the first forms produced by [[Germany]] during [[WWII]]. They were most famously used during the [[Blitz]] with delay and boobytrap fusing to prevent firefighting and other damage control efforts in the bombed areas. They were also used with a contact fuse when attacking entrenchments. Anti-personnel cluster bombs are much more effective than conventional munitions because each individual conventional bomb or artillery shell has a very small chance of hitting a targeted fortification. The larger number of individual bombs in a cluster bombing attack increases the chance of destroying fortified positions.
Most Anti-armor munitions contain [[shaped charge]] [[warhead]]s to pierce the armor of [[tank]]s and [[armored fighting vehicle]]s. In some cases, guidance is used to increase the likelihood of successfully hitting a vehicle. Guided submunitions can use either a shaped charge warhead or an [[explosively formed penetrator]]. Unguided shaped-charge submunitions are also very effective against entrenchments that encorporate overhead cover. To simplify supply and increase battlefield effectiveness by allowing a single type of round to be used against nearly any target, submunitions that incorporate both fragmentation and shaped-charge effects are produced. In [[United States Army]] and [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] [[Field Artillery]] units, this is the most common type of shell used in conventional warfare.
Anti-runway submunitions such as the [[JP233]] are designed to penetrate [[concrete]] before detonating, allowing them to shatter and crater runway surfaces. In the case of the JP233, the cratering effect is achieved through the use of a 2-stage warhead that combines a shaped charge and conventional explosive. The shaped charge is designed to create a small crater which the conventional explosive falls into and then enlarges by its explosion. Anti-runway submunitions are usually used along with anti-personnel submunitions equipped with delay or booby-trap fuses to make repair more difficult.
Mine-laying weapons do not detonate on contact, but scatter their cargo of [[land mines]] for later detonation. They come in antipersonnel and antitank forms. Antitank mines are nearly always used in combination with antipersonnel mines to make the antitank minefield more difficult to clear. Since such mines usually lie on exposed surfaces, the antipersonnel forms, such as the US [[Area Denial Artillery Munition]] normally deploy tripwires automatically after landing to make clearing the minefield more difficult. In order to avoid rendering large portions of the battlefield permanently impassable, and to minimize the amount of mine-clearing needed after a conflict, scatterable mines used by the [[United States]] are designed to self-destruct after a period of time from 4-48 hours.
During the 1950s and 1960s the United States and [[Soviet Union]] developed cluster weapons designed to deliver [[chemical weapon]]s, ranging from lethal [[nerve gas]] like [[Sarin]] to [[defoliant]]s and [[tear gas]]. International pressure has made the use of chemical weapons politically volatile, although both the U.S. and [[Russia]] retain such weapons in their arsenals.
An anti-electrical cluster weapon — the CBU-94/B — was first used by the U.S. in the [[Kosovo War]] in 1999. These consist of a TMD (Tactical Munitions Dispenser) filled with 202 BLU-114/B submunitions. Each submunition contains a small explosive charge that disperses 147 reels of fine conductive fiber; either carbon fiber or aluminium coated glass fiber. Their purpose is to disrupt and damage [[electric power transmission]] systems by producing [[short circuit]]s in high voltage power lines and [[electrical substation]]s. On the first attack, these knocked out 70% of the electrical power supply in [[Serbia]]. There are reports that it took 500 people 15 hours to get one transformer yard back on line after being hit with the conductive fibers.
Modern cluster bombs and submunition dispensers are often multiple-purpose weapons, containing mixtures of anti-armor, anti-personnel, and anti-materiel munitions.
A growing trend in cluster bomb design is the "smart" submunition, which uses [[guided missile|guidance circuitry]] to locate and attack particular targets, usually armored vehicles. Some recent weapons of this type include the U.S. [[CBU-97]] [[sensor-fused weapon]], first used in combat during the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]. Munitions specifically intended for anti-tank use may be set to self-destruct if they reach the ground without locating a target, theoretically reducing the risk of [[collateral damage]] to civilians and non-military targets. In practice though, the Lebanon war has shown how unreliable these systems are<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5263616.stm</ref>. Another limitation of the "smart" submunition is cost: such weapons are many times more expensive than standard cluster bombs, which are cheap and simple to manufacture.
==Threats to civilians==
[[Image:B1-B Lancer and cluster bombs.jpg|300px|thumb|right|A US [[B-1 Lancer]] releasing its payload of cluster bombs]]
According to [[Handicap International]], 98% of cluster bomb victims are civilians.[http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35347] The use of cluster bombs is hotly opposed by many individuals and groups, such as the [[Red Cross]], the [[Cluster Munition Coalition]] and the [[United Nations]], because of the high proportion of civilians that have fallen victim to the weapon. Since February 2005, Handicap International called for cluster munitions to be prohibited and collected hundreds of thousands signatures to support its call.
Cluster bombs pose a threat to civilians for two reasons: they have a very wide area of effect, and they almost always leave behind unexploded bomblets.
The area affected by a single cluster munition, also known as the footprint, can be as large as two or three football fields. Because of the weapon's very wide area of effect, they have frequently been documented as striking both civilian and military objects in the target area. This characteristic of the weapon is particularly problematic for civilians when cluster munitions are used in or near populated areas and has been documented by research reports from groups such as [[Human Rights Watch]]<ref>{{cite paper
|url=http://hrw.org/reports/2003/usa1203/usa1203.pdf|format=[[PDF]]|publisher=Human Rights Watch|title=Off Target: The Conduct of the War and Civilian Casualties in Iraq|date=2003-12}}</ref>, [[Landmine Action]] and [http://www.clusterbombs.org Handicap International].
The other serious problem is [[unexploded ordinance]] (UXO) of cluster bomblets left behind after a strike. These bomblets may be [[dud]]s or in some cases the weapons are designed to detonate at a later stage. In both cases, the surviving bomblets are live and can explode when handled, making them a serious threat to civilians and military personnel entering the area. In effect, the UXOs can function like [[land mines]]. These are sometimes called triple-threat weapons, because they can explode in the air, on the ground, or later when stepped on or disturbed.
Even with cluster bombs that are designed to fully explode there a certain number of individual submunitions that do not explode on impact. The US-made [[MLRS]] with [[M26]] warhead and [[M77]] submunitions are supposed to have a 5 percent [[dud rate]] but in reality have a rate of 16 percent<ref>1 Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, "Unexploded Ordnance Report," table 2-3, p. 5. No date, but transmitted to the U.S. Congress on February 29, 2000</ref>. The rate for this type tested during the [[Gulf War]] was as high as 23 percent<ref>{{cite paper
|url=http://archive.gao.gov/t2pbat5/149647.pdf|format=[[PDF]]|publisher=US General Accounting Office|title=Operation Desert Storm: Casualties Caused by Improper Handling of Unexploded U.S. Submunitions|date=August, 1993|accessdate=2006-09-01}}</ref>. The [[M483A1]] [[DPICM]] artillery-delivered cluster bombs have a reported dud rate of 14 percent{{cn}}.
Given that each cluster bomb contains hundreds of bomblets and are fired in volleys, even a small failure rate can lead each strike to leave behind hundreds or thousands of UXOs scattered randomly across the strike area. For example, after the [[2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict]], UN experts have estimated that as many as one million unexploded bomblets may contaminate the hundreds of cluster munition strike sites in Lebanon<ref>{{cite news|title='Million bomblets' in S Lebanon|publisher=BBC|date=2006-09-26|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5382192.stm|accessdate=2006-09-26}}</ref>.
In addition, some cluster bomblets, such as the [[CBU-87]], are brightly coloured in order to increase their visibility and warn off civilians. However, the colour, coupled with their small and unthreatening appearance has caused children to interpret them as toys. This problem was exacerbated in the [[U.S. invasion of Afghanistan|United States military action against Afghanistan]], when US forces dropped humanitarian rations from airplanes with the same yellow colored packaging as the [[BLU97]]. The rations packaging was later changed first to blue and then to clear packaging in the hopes of avoiding such hazardous confusion.
The US military is developing new cluster bombs which they claim have a much lower (less than 1%) dud rate<ref>{{cite paper
|url= http://www.dtic.mil/descriptivesum/Y2005/Army/0603778A.pdf|format=[[PDF]]|publisher=Defense Technical Information Center|title=Army RDT&E Budget Item Justification, Item No. 177, MLRS Product Improvement Program|date=February, 1993|accessdate=2006-09-01}}</ref>. However, in the past, new more efficient cluster bombs have not been made in sufficient quantities to push the older bombs out of the [[stockpiles]] and use. New guided weapons, including the [[WCMD]] and [[JSOW]] will substantially reduce the number of cluster munitions required for any given target with a corresponding reduction in the number and area covered by duds.
===Cluster bombs and international treaties===
Although other problematic weapons, such as [[land mines]] have been banned in many countries under specific legal instruments for several years, notably the [[Ottawa Treaty]] and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, cluster bombs are not yet banned by any international [[treaty]] and are considered legitimate weapons by some governments. International governmental deliberations revolve around the broader problem of explosive remnants of war, a problem to which cluster munitions have contributed in a significant way. However, despite calls from humanitarian organisations and some governments, no international governmental negotiations or formal discussions are underway to develop specific measures that would address the humanitarian problems cluster munitions pose. But this could change following the decision by Belgium to ban this weapon in February 2006, as well as Norway's adoption of a moratorium and call for an international treaty banning this weapon.
In November 2006, a new international law is coming into force requiring countries to clear up unexploded bombs and mines or pay teams of de-miners to do it.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6140530.stm]
===Civilian deaths from unexploded cluster bomblets===
* In Vietnam, people are still being killed as a result of cluster bombs and other objects left by the US military. Estimates range up to 300 per year.[http://clearpathinternational.org/cpiblog/archives/cat_vietnam.php]
* In post-war Kosovo unexploded cluster bomblets caused more civilian deaths than landmines.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/761092.stm]
* In [[Lebanon]] as many as 70% of the bomblets dropped may not have detonated [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2336905_1,00.html]. 16 have been killed and 100 civilians were injured [http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=3&no=321602&rel_no=1] by unexploded bomblets since the [[August 14]] [[2006]] ceasefire in the [[2006 Israeli-Lebanon conflict]]. Unofficial reports indicate that the [[US State Department]] is inquiring into whether Israeli use of US-made cluster bombs during the conflict conformed with the terms of agreements between them as to the conditions of the munition's use. It is confirmed that Hezbollah also used clusters. Israel has expressed readiness to cooperate[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/25/world/middleeast/25cluster.html?ex=1314158400&en=d574fae82fcffb07&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss]. In August 2006, the UN's [[Mine Action Coordination Center]] in [[Tyre, Lebanon]], raised an alarm over the post-conflict impact on returning civilians of unexploded cluster bombs used by Israel in village areas.[http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/mideastconflictisrael]. Israel immediately after the cease-fire gave UNIFIL maps indicating the likely locations of unexploded ordnance, to aid the international attempt to clear these areas and avoid injury to the population. Furthermore, immediately after the cease-fire the it distributed warning notices to the residents in the areas of warfare, and recommended that they wait a few days before returning to the south until the UNIFIL forces were deployed there and the area had been cleared of unexploded ordnance.[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Behind+the+Headlines/Legal+and+operational+aspects+of+the+use+of+cluster+bombs+5-Sep-2006.htm]
* In the [[2006 Israeli-Lebanon conflict]], Human Rights Watch condemned Israel for using cluster bombs on an estimated 113 occasions during the war, many of which failed to explode. These were specifically targeted at Lebanese civilian populations.
===Areas with significant cluster bomb UXO problems===
* [[Indochina]], especially in [[Laos]] and central [[Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone|Vietnam's former demilitarized zone]].
* [[Kosovo]]
* [[Afghanistan]]
* [[Iraq]]
* [[Lebanon]]/ [[Israel]]
==International legislation==
Although covered by the general rules of [[international humanitarian law]], cluster munitions are not currently covered by any specific international legal instrument. So far [[Belgium]] is the only country to have issued a ban on the use (carrying), transportation, export, stockpiling, trade and production of cluster munitions.[http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi/article_body.pl?language=fr&caller=summary&pub_date=2006-06-09&numac=2006009449] However, several countries, including Austria, Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have seen considerable parliamentary activity on cluster munitions. In some of these countries, there are ongoing discussions concerning draft legislation banning cluster munitions, along the lines of the legislation adopted in [[Belgium]]. Norway has also committed itself to an international ban on cluster munitions and recently announced a moratorium on the weapon. Austria has also committed itself to an international legally-binding instrument on cluster munitions, after the Parliament passed a resolution on cluster munitions in July. On December 5, 2006, Senator [[Lyn Allison]], leader of the [[Australian Democrats]], introduced a private bill, titled the [[Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill 2006]], to prohibit Australia's use, manufacture and possession of cluster munitions. The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee will scrutinize the bill early in 2007.
==See also==
*[[Cluster Munition Coalition]]
*[http://www.clusterbombs.org Handicap International's global petition against cluster-munitions]
*[[Bomb disposal]]
*[[Demining]]
*[[Clear Path International]]
*[[Human Rights Watch]]
*[[CBU-100 Cluster Bomb]], an American cluster bomb, known as the Rockeye, employed primarily in an anti-tank mode and displaying very high failure rates in combat situations.
*[[JP233]], a British cluster bomb delivery system designed to attack runways
*[[CBU-97]], an American submunition-based weapon system which contains a small number of individually guided submunitions. It is considered effective against groups of vehicles such as tanks and support vehicles and because of the guided nature of its submunitions, there is some debate over whether to consider it a cluster munition.
* [[BL755]], a British cluster bomb used in the [[Falklands War]], [[Gulf War]] / [[Operation Granby]], and [[2003 Invasion of Iraq]] / [[Operation Telic]].
==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>
==External links==
===Threat to civilians===
* [http://www.stopclustermunitions.org Official Web Site of the International Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC)]
* [http://www.cpi.org Web site of Clear Path International. An organization assisting cluster bomb survivors in Vietnam.]
* [http://www.clusterbombs.org Handicap International's global campaign to ban cluster-munitions.]
* [http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=arms_clusterbombs Human Rights Watch - Reports, studies and statements on cluster munitions.]
* [http://www.landmineaction.org/resources.asp?item=research Landmineaction.org Research reports on cluster munitions.]
* [http://www.passievoorvrede.nl/page.php?pag_id=100 Passievoorvrede.nl "Cluster weapons: Necessity or convenience?" report on the limited military utility of cluster weapons.]
* [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/080800-01.htm Cluster Bombs: The Hidden Toll, article by Richard Norton-Taylor]
* [http://www.fsd.ch/ Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD), an organisation clearing cluster bombs and landmines]
===Manufacturers===
* [http://www.textron.com/ Textron Inc.]
* [http://www.insys-ltd.co.uk/ Insys Ltd.]
===Products===
* [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/cbu-97.htm CBU 97 Cluster Bomb]
===Technical===
* [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/cbu-97.htm Federation of American Scientists article on the CBU97 and CBU105 cluster bombs with smart munitions.]
* [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/blu-114.htm Federation of American Scientists article on the BLU-114 anti-electrical weapon.]
[[Category:Air-dropped bombs]]
[[Category:Landmines|*]]
[[Category:Area denial weapons]]
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[[es:Bomba de racimo]]
[[eo:Grapolbombo]]
[[fa:بمب خوشهای]]
[[fr:Bombe à sous-munitions]]
[[he:פצצת מצרר]]
[[hu:Szórt lőszerek]]
[[nl:Clusterbom]]
[[ja:クラスター爆弾]]
[[no:Klasevåpen]]
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