‘a mistake’

Shimon Peres, Israel’s deputy prime minister, has spoken to al-Jazeera about Israel’s use of cluster bombs in Lebanon : ‘To be short and clear, we committed a mistake, regrettably.’

Some mistake: around one million cluster bomblets according to UN estimates. So far, only 19,000 cluster bombs have been cleared; twenty-seven people have died and more than 140 have been wounded by them since the end of the war; tens of thousands of refugees are unable to return to their homes because of them.

Not only that, but the Isrealis appear to have violated usage agreements with the USA and Peres admitted that they were used ‘apparently … without the knowledge even of the chief-of-staff’.

For some reason the phrase ‘out of control’ springs to mind. (source: al-Jazeera)