"We are on the cusp of the same type of debate for cluster bombs," Arkin said. He acknowledged the complexity of the issue from a military standpoint and stressed that "if their use was restricted to appropriate targets, we probably wouldn't have the types of problems we have seen in Yugoslavia."

Arkin also pointed out that the number of cluster bombs used in Yugoslavia was a mere fraction of the number sprayed over Iraq, and that this is already a recognition of "the adverse humanitarian impact" of these bombs.

There is clearly a lot to be learned about cluster bombs and whether, in the parade of deadly weapons, theirs is a particularly ghastly part. The Defense Department will release a preliminary report on the Kosovo campaign in mid-October. However, when I talked to its spokesperson he was unsure if the report would discuss cluster bombs.

Yet it appears that now is a particularly good time for those who feel any weapon with such potential to destroy truly innocent civilians and peacekeepers should be banned. The land mine campaign has opened the world's eyes to the long-term ravages of war and so these NATO tools must also come under scrutiny.

"We have a new aesthetic created by the campaigns against land mines and against blinding lasers in 1995, that makes people more confident they can ban the weapons," Arkin said.

Perhaps someday we can drop crayons instead.

Adam I. Arenson '01, a Crimson editor, is a history and literature concentrator in Lowell House. His column appears biweekly.