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A year ago Psaki called cluster bombs illegal war crimes; now, Biden expected to send them to Ukraine

July 7, 2023 | | Print Article

The Biden administration is expected to announce on Friday that it will be sending thousands of devastating, largely banned cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new, $800 million military aid package.

“More than 100 nations have signed a 15-year-old treaty banning the use of cluster munitions, which rain down smaller bombs that scatter across the landscape,” The New York Times reports. “The weapons, which are meant to explode when they hit the ground, have caused thousands of deaths and injuries, often among children who have picked up duds that failed to go off in the initial attacks, only to explode long after a conflict is over.”

To understand just how shocking this move, if confirmed, truly is, consider that, when asked just five days into Russia’s war with Ukraine about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s use of  “illegal cluster bombs and vacuum bombs,” then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki replied, “If that were true, it would potentially be a war crime.”


(Video: YouTube)

According to The Times, “Several of Mr. Biden’s top aides, including Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, recommended he make the move at a meeting of top national security officials last week, despite what they have described as their own deep reservations, people familiar with the discussions said.”

Amid humanitarian concerns and recognizing how “drastically out of step” sending the banned weapons would place the United States in relation to its allies, it was the State Department that stood as the “last holdout” in the high-level meetings to discuss the move, but Ukraine is now “burning through the available supply of conventional artillery shells.”

Ukraine has already deployed its own cluster bombs, and, according to The Times, “Mr. Biden has come under steady pressure from President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who argues that the munitions — which disperse tiny, deadly bomblets — are the best way to kill Russians who are dug into trenches and blocking Ukraine’s counteroffensive to retake territory.”

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“One American official said Thursday that it was now clear that the weapons are ‘100 percent necessary’ to meet the current battlefield needs,” the outlet reports.

The argument that swung President Biden’s decision in favor of sending the cluster munitions came from the Pentagon, which claimed Ukraine would receive an “improved” version of the bombs with a “dud rate” of approximately 2 percent, according to officials, compared to the Russian’s cluster munitions’ dud rate of 40 percent or more. However, The Times notes, “Many bomb experts say the dud rates of American cluster munitions are likely far higher than Pentagon estimates.”

Online, news of the upcoming announcement from the White House is sparking fury from those who see it as the act of a “warmonger.”

“Warmongers Joe Biden and Tony Blinken are preparing to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. These kill and maim children and are banned by an international treaty signed by most of our allies,” tweeted author Jim Rickards. “Let’s not hear more about the ‘humanitarian’ cause we’re supporting.”

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Melissa Fine
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