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The U.S. knows the Saudi government has employed cluster bombs in its ongoing war against Shiite Muslim rebels in neighboring Yemen, but has done little if anything to stop the use of the indiscriminate and deadly weapons during what has become a human rights catastrophe in one of the Arab world’s poorest countries.

With watchdog groups warning of war crimes and attacks striking civilians in Yemen, the Pentagon declined to comment publicly on whether it has discussed cluster bombs with Saudi Arabia or encouraged its military to cease using them, deferring all such questions to the State Department. But a Pentagon official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, tells U.S. News “the U.S. is aware that Saudi Arabia has used cluster munitions in Yemen.”

via U.S. Official: Saudis Have Used Cluster Bombs in Yemen – US News.

US News and World Report is trying very hard to give you the impression that use of cluster munitions is somehow illegal or immoral.

It’s not. Many nations have signed a ban on their use, but neither Saudi Arabia nor the US are parties to that treaty.

The high dud rate of some, especially older, munitions is a real problem. But there are ways to mitigate that issue, and further, the basic moral imperative of winning a war calls for using the most effective weapon in order to win as quickly as possible.