The US version would have simply “regulated” the manufacture of cluster munitions without banning them, and was supposed by Russia, China and Israel, all of whom still have such weapons in their arsenals.

The US said the ban makes “no sense” and that the change from a ban to a regulation would have had a “substantial humanitarian impact on the ground.” Its opponents agreed on that account, but said the impact wouldn’t be in a good way.

Though Britain was among those who already signed the ban, their objection to the US changes was still something of a surprise, as the nation rarely openly challenges US policy in international forums.

Read more on the ban at Reuters

The majority of the world has embraced the ban on the deadly weapons, which spread bomblets across broad areas of territory, many of which remain unexploded for years after their use. Lebanon was chosen for the meeting because the nation saw use of hundreds of thousands of cluster bomblets against it in Israel’s 2006 invasion. The bomblets continue to kill and maim people to this day.

The conference is focused on urging the signatories to work on destroying remaining munition stockpiles and to help with clearing land littered with bomblets. Also expected to be discussed is how to help the large number of civilian victims of their past usage.

The treaty has been signed by most of the world, but many have been slow to ratify the treaty. A handful of nations, including the United States, China, India, Pakistan, Russia and Israel, have spurned the treaty, and continue to use the munitions as a regular part of their arsenals.

Cluster bombs have been criticized recently for their potential to cause massive civilian deaths long after their use, and sparked claims that Gadhafi was violating international law in using the “banned” munitions.

Which is ultimately untrue. Though there is a ban on cluster munitions which has entered into force, Libya is one of eight nations that are not signatories. Interestingly, the US also spurned the ban, and has used cluster bombs regularly in its own wars, including in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Indeed, US officials fought tooth and nail to weaken the ban on cluster munitions so other NATO member nations that did sign the ban could continue to participate in US-led wars in which the US was using such bombs.

In fact the reason cluster bombs have such an infamous reputation is because of the enormous death tolls caused in the recent US uses, as well as the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, during which the US “rushed” a shipment of cluster bombs to Israel before a ceasefire was agreed to. Such bombs have continued to kill and maim for years after their use.

The reports of use in Libya are so far comparatively isolated, but in a nation where the population is clustered around a few major cities and all the fighting is occuring in those cities, the use of the munitions could be a horrific humanitarian crisis.

Singh seems to be eager to reduce tensions as US Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen and Ronald Noble, the head of Interpol, paid visits to Pakistan. As India presses Pakistan to act against those responsible for Mumbai, Noble pointed out that India has not provided the evidence needed to identity and apprehend those suspected of involvement.

But the Singh Administration’s dismissal of “war hysteria” is likely to be tempered somewhat by news that the Indian Defense Ministry is asking the United States to fast track its previous order of $375 million worth of cluster bombs. And with India and Pakistan both deploying growing numbers of forces along their common border, tensions between the two are unlikely to be improved by blithe dismissals.

The US State Department defended the decision, claiming that signing the ban would put US soldiers at risk. The US has been at the center of most recent high profile cluster munitions uses. During the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, the United States littered the Afghan countryside with cluster munitions. Making matters worse, they dropped food aid for the civilian populace in packages the same color and of similar appearance to the bomblets. The Pentagon eventually decided to change the color of the food packages, but the incident proved a major embarrassment for the invasion forces. Afghanistan announced today that it would become a last-minute surprise signatory to the ban.

Perhaps even more noteworthy, the United States rushed a shipment of cluster munitions to Israel during its 2006 invasion of Southern Lebanon, which the Israeli military proceeded to scatter around hundreds of locations in Lebanon in the waning days of the war, in a move they insisted was “self defense.” The bomblets have continued to kill and maim civilians and foreigners dispatched to aid in their clean-up for the past two years. International outrage over this use, perhaps more than any other, was the catalyst for today’s ban. How much value the treaty will have without the weapon’s largest users remains to be seen.