NATO Gives Green Light to the United States Sending Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
Jose Nino
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In early July, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gave the green light for the United States to send cluster bomb munitions to Ukraine. Curiously, the use of cluster bombs have generally been prohibited by governments across the world. Though, at the time, Stoltenberg signaled that “NATO does not have a position on them.” Several allies have signed up to ban their use and others haven’t.
A reporter specifically asked Stoltenberg about the prudentiality of allowing these munitions to be sent to the Ukrainians. He had added in response to reporter inquiries, “This will be for governments to decide, not for NATO to decide.”
“We are facing a brutal war, and we have to remember this brutality is reflected, that every day we see casualties, and that cluster munitions are used by both sides,” he continued. “And Russia used cluster munitions to invade another country. Ukraine is using cluster munitions to defend itself.”
The Associated Press reported on July 6, 2023 that the United States government has decided to send military aid to Ukraine, in the form of cluster bombs after several weeks of heated internal debates over the polemical munitions. The cluster bombs were part of a recently approved $800 million arms package.
On the same day that the Biden regime announced its decision to consider sending cluster bombs to Ukraine, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report that was sharply critical of the munitions. It said in a concluding remark:
“Ukrainian forces have used cluster munitions that caused deaths and serious injuries to civilians. Russian forces have extensively used cluster munitions, causing many civilian deaths and serious injuries.
Cluster munitions used by Russia and Ukraine are harming civilians now and will leave bomblets behind that will continue to do so for many years. Both sides should immediately stop using cluster munitions and not seek to obtain more of these indiscriminate weapons. The US should not transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine.”
The deployment of military aid to Ukraine will not fundamentally alter the outcome in this conflict. Russia clearly has escalatory dominance in this theater and is ready to fight for the long-haul. The continued deployment of military aid to Ukraine will not only lead to more untold suffering, but it will likely prompt the Russians to take more maximalist aims with regards to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. This will likely result in the wholesale destruction of the current Ukrainian state, where it will likely be left as a dysfunctional rump state.
No matter what the geopolitical tinkerers say, the quickest way to achieve peace in Ukraine is by halting all forms of military aid and pushing for a negotiated settlement of the conflict.
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