Flashback: Biden Admin Said Cluster Bomb Usage a Potential War Crime - Now They're Shipping the Armaments to Ukraine
Joe Biden’s administration announced on Friday that it is sending cluster bombs to Ukraine to use in its war against Russian invaders. This is the same Biden administration that only a year ago said that use of cluster munitions could be a war crime.
A cluster bomb, like those being used by Russia today, is not a single explosive, but is made up of a container filled with multiple smaller bombs that will distribute devastation across a wide area instead of just hitting one spot.
The bombs are controversial because of the unavoidable number of “dud” devices that do not detonate upon impact with the ground and remain armed and dangerous until someone or something triggers them later. Because of this, human rights organizations have condemned the use of cluster munitions because, like land mines, they pose a danger to civilians — especially children — sometimes for years after they were used in war.
As Human Rights Watch notes on its website, more than 120 nations have signed onto the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions which prohibits the use of these devices. The United States has not signed the convention, nor have Russia or Ukraine.
Despite the international outcry against cluster munitions, Biden has approved the disbursal of these bombs to Ukraine in yet another round of assistance to the war-torn nation, according to Just The News.
“We will not leave Ukraine defenseless at any point in this conflict period. Ukraine would not be using these munitions in some foreign land. This is their country they’re defending,” said Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan during the Friday news conference.
“Ukraine has committed to post-conflict de-mining efforts to mitigate any potential harm to civilians and this will be necessary regardless of whether the United States provides these munitions or not because of Russia’s widespread use of cluster munitions,” Sullivan added.
Sullivan seemed to tacitly acknowledge that the move to send Ukraine cluster munitions was a controversial decision.
During his news conference he pointed out, “Ukraine would not be using these munitions in some foreign land. This is their country they’re defending.”
Sullivan then pointed out that Russia is already using cluster munitions that have a “dud rate” of up to 40 percent. American-provided cluster bombs, he said, have a failure rate of only 2.5 percent.
He also noted that Ukraine has been asking for the U.S. to supply it with similar capabilities for some time already.
“So, the bottom line is this: we recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordinance, this is why we’ve deferred the decision for as long as we could,” Sullivan concluded. “But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine does not have enough artillery. That is intolerable to us.
“Ukraine would not be using these munitions in some foreign land. This is their country they’re defending these are their citizens they’re protecting and they are motivated to use any weapon system they have in a way that minimizes risks to those citizens.”
Regardless, this new use of cluster bombs is from the same Biden White House that called use of these munitions something akin to a war crime.
In February of 2022, for instance, then-Biden press secretary Jen Psaki spoke directly to the issue, after a reporter pinned use of such munitions on Russia.
During the Feb. 28 press conference, Psaki responded to a reporter who asked, “There are reports of illegal cluster bombs and vacuum bombs being used by the Russians. If that’s true, what is the next step of this administration? And is there a red line for how much violence will be tolerated against civilians in this manner that’s illegal and potentially a war crime?”
Psaki’s response was clear: “It is — it would be. I don’t have any confirmation of that. We have seen the reports. If that were true, it would potentially be a war crime.”
BREAKING: Here is Jen Psaki in 2022 saying that using cluster bombs is a war crime
The Biden Admin is sending cluster bomber to Ukraine today pic.twitter.com/dSMKqumDm1
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 7, 2023
Cluster bombs are extremely problematic, as even Biden’s own people admit. But he’s still sending them to Ukraine.
So, apparently, using cluster bombs is a war crime, unless Biden says it’s OK. Seems to be more than just a little hypocritical.
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