(TheConservativeTimes.org) – Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) urged President Biden to rethink the authorization to send cluster munitions to Ukraine. The controversial decision to send M864 155-millimeter artillery shells has come under fire from Congressional Republicans and Democrats alike due to the possibility of ‘dud’ submunitions that could harm civilians. Adding fuel to the fire, the weapon has been banned in over 100 countries. The White House even asserted last year that Russia’s use of the weapon could be a war crime.
“Cluster bombs should never be used,” Lee told CNN’s Jake Tapper. She went on to detail how this could harm civilians, including children.
While there is bipartisan pushback, there is also bipartisan support for the move. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) believes this is about the Ukrainian right to self-defense, stating, “All the Ukrainians and Zelenskyy are asking for is… the same weapons the Russians have” and that “They want these (for) self-defense…I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby made an argument defending the decision, “These munitions do provide a useful battlefield capability…I think we can all agree that more civilians have been and will continue to be killed by Russian forces.” His argument, centered upon the premise that the Ukrainians would use the weapons for defense as opposed to the Russian’s offensive use, also included the fact that the United States cluster munitions may have a lower dud rate compared to the Russians of 30-40 percent versus 2.5 percent.
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. isn’t convinced. He slammed President Biden on Twitter, claiming, “Cluster bombs are munitions so horrific” that over a hundred nations united to ban them.
The runner-up to Biden, RFK Jr. is applying some political pressure on the President; however, Biden is leading him by 56-points meaning that the Republican nominee in 2024 will be the most significant opposition Biden has to face on his foreign policy decisions– beyond Congress.
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