The Biden Administration’s recent decision to provide cluster munition projectiles for use in Ukraine represents yet again another diplomatic and military failure for the administration that can not seem to shoot straight in the arena of foreign policy – no pun intended.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_munition
By definition, a cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicles. Other cluster munitions are designed to destroy runways or electric power transmission lines, disperse chemical or biological weapons, or to scatter land mines.
Because cluster bombs release many small bomblets over a wide area, they pose risks to civilians both during attacks and afterward. Unexploded bomblets can kill or maim civilians and/or unintended targets long after a conflict has ended and are costly to locate and remove. The so-called failure rate of this unexploded ordnance or “UXO” in military parlance can range from 2 percent to 40 percent or more and can remain active for many years perhaps indefinitely.
Cluster munitions are currently prohibited for those nations that ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions, adopted in Dublin, Ireland, in May of 2008. The Convention entered into force and became binding international law upon ratifying states on 1 August 2010, six months after being ratified by 30 states. As of 10 February 2022, a total of 123 states have joined the Convention, as 110 states parties and 13 signatories. Among those who have not signed and ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions are Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.
As the leader of the free world, this action truly sickens my stomach and is morally repugnant. Having seen the results of children in Asia with limbs missing due to cluster bombs strewn during the Vietnam conflict this short-sighted action will haunt us for generations and rightly so. Another generation of children will have to endure life because of the ineptitude of decision makers far removed from the field of battle who bear no responsibility for their callous and misguided actions.
It is ethically and morally wrong to provide or even sanction the use of cluster munitions by a third party as are chemical and biological weapons. Once the “Genie” is out of the bottle he or she is hard to put back in. As a nation, we can do better than this, but quite frankly I have come to expect nothing less than this current “cluster” from an Administration that has lost its way. One only wonders what will follow….
8 comments
I thought land mines were prohibited unless they were non-persistent – and these cluster munitions are effectively anti-personnel persistent land mines if they don’t explode upon impact. Biden is, once again, ignoring decades of work to eliminate such things.
Dear “Karl,” i beg your pardon but in 34 years of active duty to inlclude a tour at JSOC (look it up if you are not aware of the Commands mission) during Desert Storm my experince with war is far more than “zero.” Be glad to compare military service records with you at any time my friend. Mine includes four Legions of Merit and other awards for classifed missions.
Sorry “Karl Von Clausewitz” but i have in thirty-four years of naval service i have seen war first hand. How about you Shipmate ?
Biden said that Ukraine is running out of munitions. That means the West is running out of munitions. Therefor the cluster bombs… About a week ago, the CEO of Raytheon said that he is dependent upon China for the supply chains… that is for US defense systems.
The Leader of the Free World… e.g. the USA is run by idiots. They outsourced their industry to a potentially hostile nation.
Russia has no such supply chain issues. And its BRICs partners are helping too. Iran and China are both providing weapons.
You might want to urge anyone you know at the Pentagon to cut the saber rattling with Russia and China… If the US cannot win it within a month, the lack of munitions the neocons can’t send to the Urkainians will be the same problem the US has.
God bless you my friend. You’re a great American patriot. Don’t pay attention to some bot on here. Cluster bombs have been outlawed by most every other nation. Why we still have them is beyond me. One day kids will be playing in Ukraine again. For one of them to be blown up would be despicable.
I forget your first stance on this war James… pro I think. The Biden administration could end this thing in a minute by pushing Zelensky to the negotiating table. But no… they want to kill more Russians and Ukrainians. Just like every other neocon war that the USA has prosecuted since 03, it is senseless and is leaving the US in a worse position than before…
Remember when useful idiot Democrats like EC Doleman told you all about how Trump was going to lead the US to WW 3..
Looks like Biden is taking you there EC Dumbass…
Does anyone here know the status of James Russell Davis of King George County?
Davis was a founding member and long-time president of the now-defunct King George Tea Party as well as the King George Militia — which is not defunct because it never got off the ground.
Davis was arrested and charged with various crimes in the Jan 6 coup attempt. The KG Tea Party collapsed after his arrest — which is a good thing.
So what’s up with Davis? Has he been sentenced? He’s a former Marine who never amounted to much in the USMC or afterwards.
” James Poplar is a retired Navy “Commodore” . . . ” Meaning James Poplar’s experience with war is exactly zero.
We are — and have been for a few years — in WW III and it’s not ending any time soon.
War has its own calculus. It would be nice of the calculus of war always included a moral imperative but sometimes considerations of morality play no part in the decision.