US plan to sell cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia draws condemnation...

[branford]

25. Is that really what you gathered from my comments? Wow.

First, I didn't say all countries with active militaries. Also, Britain and France are not as significant as you imply. They lack the ability to project power without the United States, as was recently the case in Libya and Mali.

Rightly or wrongly, until such time as the United States is not the world's de facto policeman, and other major powers (primarily Russia and China) abide in practice with similar customs and restrictions in combat, we will not officially tie our hand with a treaty like cluster munitions or the ICC.

You might believe that these treaties are valuable, and I generally agree with you, but the above realty has existed under both D and R administrations for some time. It's similar to the Small Arms Treaty, where our own domestic law far exceeds the treaty provisions, and even Obama's recent signature is meaningless since it stands no chance of gaining 67 votes in the Senate (heck, it probably couldn't get 50 votes in the Democratic chamber!).