Pax Christi Metro DC

You really can’t imagine the effect of a cluster bomb until you’re sitting across the table from Raed Mokaled. “I am sure Ahmed was not a criminal. He was not a terrorist,” Raed told the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) last week at a briefing. He then described how his 5-year-old son Ahmed was killed by a U.S-made cluster munition that he picked up while playing at his own 5th birthday party in southern Lebanon.

The U.S. has a stockpile of nearly 1 billion cluster “bombies,” the sub-munitions that a cluster bomb contains. You can help keep these bombs out of the hands of children. On November 5, tens of thousands of people around the world will be urging their governments to ban cluster bombs. FCNL is joining with the US Fund for UNICEF, Amnesty International USA, Adopt-A-Minefield, UNA-USA, and many other groups to call on senators to cosponsor the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act (S. 594). You can help. Ask five friends to make a call , and put a note in your calendar to call Monday. FCNL has set up a toll-free number for you to make your calls–see more details below.

The Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act would prevent the U.S. military from using cluster bombs in areas where civilians are known to be present. But the Bush administration says the military benefits outweigh the civilian costs. The bill currently has 12 cosponsors. We need many more–from both parties–to move this bill to a vote in the coming year.

Encourage your friends and families to participate in the national call-in day, and remember to call yourself on Monday. Urge your senators to cosponsor the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act (S.594) and ensure its passage in the coming year. Spread the word in your community–download a flyer or print out the background in this email. Let people know that this day of action is a first step in a campaign over the next year to build support for a cluster bomb ban. Read Raed’s story. Find out more about the call-in day.