I recently met a young man from Afghanistan named Soraj. In December 2001, while celebrating a holiday with cousins and friends, he picked up a bright yellow object on the ground. It was a U.S. cluster submunition. It exploded, ripping off both of his legs and one of his fingers. He was 10 years old.
I realized that our stories are linked. Travis died so that an Iraqi farmer, or that farmer's child, would not have to suffer as Soraj did. This is a sacrifice no one should have to make.
Among the more than 100 governments that will gather in Oslo are nearly all of our NATO allies, including Britain, France and Germany. These countries, fighting alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan, have decided that they can protect their troops without weapons that pose a terrifying and avoidable threat to civilians during and long after the battle.
President-elect Barack Obama will face many pressing problems when he takes office. This is one with a simple solution -- sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions soon after taking office and then push the Senate to ratify it. He should see it as part of helping to repair the United States' damaged global reputation and reasserting U.S. moral leadership.
This treaty will not give Soraj back his legs, and it will not bring me back my son. But it will save the lives and limbs of other civilians -- and U.S. soldiers.
