Ban on napalm backed at UN

With the exception of the United States, Turkey, and Romania, the nations making up NATO and the Warsaw Pact have signed a treaty at the United Nations banning the use against civilians of napalm, flame throwers, and bombs dropped to start fires, correspondent Louis Wiznitzer reports.

Many other UN members are expected to sign the treaty, which crowns two years of negotiations aimed at curbing the use of inhumane weapons. While some observers applaud the treaty as a symbol of what can be achieved through UN efforts in the fight against the arm race, others are disappointed and see "the glass as being half empty rather than half full."

"Many cruel weapons, for instance cluster bombs, have not been included in the ban," a Scandinavian diplomat said.