Sky News is reporting as its lead story that Gadaffi forces are using cluster bombs, fired as mortar rounds. They tell us that this will strengthen the hand of those calling for regime change. The layers of hypocrisy here are so thick it is hard to peel them back. But here are just a few:

The United States has the largest stocks of cluster bombs in the world and refuses to join the international ban

The United Kingdom joined the ban but entered a secret deal for US cluster bombs to be stored on British soil

“Middle East Peace Envoy” Tony Blair throughout his period as Prime Minister blocked UK agreement to a cluster bomb ban and until 2009 cluster bombs were manufacturedon a large scale at Raytheon in Northern Ireland

The cluster bombs being used by Gadaffi are Spanish and were sold to him with the active collusion of the Spanish government

Israel used more than a million cluster bombs in Southern Lebanon without a word of condemnation from Sky News. Sky are reporting that Gadaffi has used “at least three” as its lead headline.

There was no Sky News condemnation of the widespread use of cluster bombs by Israel in Gaza in 2009.

The use of cluster bombs by Gadaffi forces is wrong, and Human Rights Watch were right to break the story. But hypocritical whipping up of indignation, with the purpose of promoting a war that will kill many more people, is also wrong. Even more so when the wesrtern position on cluster bombs is so monumentally hypocritical.

UPDATE

“Gadaffi Cluster Bombs” is also the lead story on the BBC