A Jan. 1, 2019 deadline in which the United States would continue its use of cluster bombs only if 99 percent of the weapons are able to detonate will be ignored by the Pentagon.
By: Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Mobley, U.S. Navy [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Tom Crosson, a Pentagon spokesman, told CBS that efforts to produce bombs with failure rates of 1 percent or less have been fruitless and it is unclear how much longer is needed to meet that standard.
Thus the military has decided that it should set aside the 2019 deadline, which was mandated by the George W. Bush administration in 2008, and continue to allow commanders to use cluster bombs when they deem it necessary.