Are you worried that the US may send cluster munitions to Ukraine?

At this very odd moment in US history, with a cognitively impaired president controlled by a shadowy group of unelected and unaccountable advisors, an important line in the sand may be crossed.  The United State is openly discussing sending cluster munitions (AKA “cluster bombs”) to Ukraine for use there in its war against Russia.  These weapons, which contain multiple bombs that separate and scatter, are a grave danger to civilians since the munitions are designed to scatter over a wide area and may remain unexploded and pose a danger over time to innocent non-combatants.

For this reason, 123 nations are committed to the goals of the Convention on Cluster Munitions that prohibits all use, transfer, production, and stockpiling of these weapons.  Notably, the United States (which employed cluster munitions in Vietnam and Iraq), along with Russia, China, Brazil, Pakistan, and Israel, has not signed on.

U.S. “Honest John” missile warhead with M134 bomblets containing sarin gas, at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, circa 1960.  Public Domain photo.

Recall that Joe Biden was installed in the presidency on the promise to return to some sort of pre-Trump “normality,” which would “restore confidence” among our allies in our leadership.  But now, after decades of refraining from these widely banned weapons, the U.S. is openly considering supplying them to Ukraine out of desperation, because we have so depleted our stockpiles of munitions that the cupboard is bare.

Not too long ago, the use of cluster munitions was called a “war crime” by then-spokeswoman for the Biden clique Jen Psaki:

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

Consider the source below — the New York Times — which has been both pro-Biden and pro–war in Ukraine:

Biden Weighs Giving Ukraine Weapons Banned by Many U.S. Allies

Ukraine is seeking cluster munitions, which are known to cause grievous injuries to civilians, as its ammunition supply runs low.

For more than six months, President Biden and his aides have been wrestling with one of the most vexing questions in the war in Ukraine: whether to risk letting Ukrainian forces run out of the artillery rounds they desperately need to fight Russia, or agree to ship them cluster munitions — widely banned weapons known to cause grievous injury to civilians, especially children.

On Thursday, Mr. Biden appeared on the verge of providing the cluster munitions to Ukraine, a step that would sharply separate him from many of his closest allies, who have signed an international treaty banning the use, stockpiling or transfer of such weapons.

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. They requested anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations.

The State Department had been the last holdout, both because of humanitarian concerns and worries that the United States would be drastically out of step with its allies.

“Out of step” is a gentle way of expressing the fear and outrage that allies who have been pressured into supporting the Ukraine war are feeling.  Via ZeroHedge:

“Germany opposes sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, its foreign minister said on Friday, a day after U.S. officials said Washington was planning to provide Kyiv with the weapons, widely denounced for killing and maiming civilians,” Reuters reports. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters in Vienna: “I have followed the media reports. For us, as a state party, the Oslo agreement applies.” [emphasis in the original]

Via Breitbart:

The United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Spain have called upon U.S. President Joe Biden to not send cluster bombs to Ukraine amid concerns over the danger they pose to civilian populations. (snip)

Both the UK and Spain are signatories of the International Convention on Cluster Munitions….

David Sacks sardonically tweets:

Rules-Based International Order v23.7.7

This update contains the following enhancements and bug fixes:

? Cluster bombs have been upgraded from war crime to important tool to bring the killing to an end.

All countries should update as soon as possible.

— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) July 7, 2023

It is reasonable to suppose that should these U.S.-supplied weapons be deployed by Ukraine against Russian troops (and victimizing Russian-speaking civilians in Ukraine, most likely, sooner or later), Russia will respond with a counter-escalation.  Given the horrific nature of the weapons, affecting civilians, that retaliation could involve not just civilians in Ukraine (already victimized by conventional munitions hitting apartment blocks and supermarkets, for instance), but possibly elsewhere.

Do we really want to start supplying weapons that we called “war crimes” a year ago?