New York Times on Saturday urged American military to tighten the use and export of cluster bombs, noting the "insidious" weapon should never be used in populated areas.

Commenting the State Department's announcement on Friday to investigate whether Israel inappropriately used U.S.-made cluster bombs in populated areas during its month-long campaign in Lebanon, the U.S. leading newspaper said in an editorial: "Whatever the specific findings of this investigation, the rules governing cluster bomb exports and their use by American troops need to be tightened and more strictly enforced."

Under the U.S. rules, American-made cluster bombs are prohibited to be used in civilian areas.

The New York Times noted that "Washington has strict rules about how American-made cluster munitions are supposed to be used by foreign buyers. But in the heat of combat, those rules are not always followed. Nor are U.S. forces as careful as they should be. America has used cluster munition in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo. Israel used them in past campaigns in Lebanon."

"Details of current understandings between the United States and Israel on when American-made cluster munitions can be used are secret. But in the past, Washington limited their use of cluster bombs to military emergencies, like the kind of attack on Israeli territory by multiple Arab armies that last occurred in 1973...

"But today's dangers are different, and require different responses. Attacking guerrilla or terrorist sanctuaries in populated areas is not a mission that calls for cluster weapons, and the United States should not supply them," the newspaper said.

Source: Xinhua