Just when I was starting to think “Shock and Awe” was just a bluff, the air assault on Iraq began. There’s a shocking article about the current attacks in the Sydney Morning Herald that includes this interesting tidbit (as well as the quote above) :

A legal expert at the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva said the use of napalm or fuel air bombs was not illegal “per se” because the US was not a signatory to the 1980 weapons convention which prohibits and restricts certain weapons.

But napalm isn’t the only “frowned upon” weapon being used by U.S. Forces. The Australian governement went as far as issuing this statement :

Australian troops in Iraq will operate under stricter rules of engagement than their U.S. comrades and will avoid use of land mines and cluster bombs, a defense spokesman said Friday.

For more information about the use of landmies, you can check out the full text of the U.N. Anti-Landmine Treaty (which the U.S. refuses to sign) here and get some more information about one of the campaigns to ban mines here.