President Joe Biden is close to approving cluster bombs for Ukraine, according to sources within his administration.
ZeroHedge's Tyler Durden wrote about the development, citing a report from CNN. According to the mainstream media outlet, insiders from the White House said Biden is "strongly considering" the approval of the transfer of dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICMs) – the technical name for cluster bombs.
"Officials … [said] a final decision is expected soon from the White House," the fake news network stated. "If approved, the [cluster bombs] could be included in a new military aid package to Ukraine as soon as next month."
According to the outlet, "cluster munitions – which the U.S. has stockpiled in large numbers since phasing them out in 2016 – could help fill that gap." An official remarked that the DPICMs "would undoubtedly have a significant battlefield impact."
A June 26 report by Foreign Policy magazine remarked that the White House's decision to provide Ukraine with cluster bombs appears to be the result of a bipartisan letter penned by lawmakers. The June 23 letter by Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC), Victoria Spartz (R-IN) and Steve Cohen (D-TN) urged the executive branch to send DPICMs to Kyiv in aid of its counter-offensive.
"[Transferring] DPICMs to Ukraine presents an opportunity to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with a powerful capability to use against the Russian army and mercenary forces," the three representatives wrote. "Let us use this untapped, vast arsenal in service of Ukrainian victory and reclaiming Europe's peace."
Many Republicans have remained among the most outspoken promoters of massive spending and a muscular approach against Russia. Back in March, a letter penned by Congressional GOP members chastised Biden's "reluctance to provide Ukraine the right type and amount of long-range fires and maneuver capability to create." (Related: Defense Department to boost production of artillery ammunition by 500% for Ukraine… but will take two years just to build the new factories.)
Top GOP brass in both chambers of Congress were signatories of the March 2023 letter. Idaho Sen. Jim Risch of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker of the Senate Armed Services Committee affixed their names to the letter. Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Alabama Sen. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, also signed the letter.
Cluster bombs are banned for a reason
According to Foreign Policy, cluster bombs "can be fired from artillery cannons and scatter up to 88 bomblets on the battlefield." It added that these weapons could be of much help to Kyiv as it faces Russian tanks and trenches. However, it also warned that "if not cleaned up, the bomblets can be left to kill and maim civilians long after the fighting has died down."
"Experts worry that because the bomblets scatter randomly, civilians could easily mistake them for toys or debris," the magazine noted.
Durden remarked that Washington's "'reluctance' of cluster bombs stems from the fact that some 120 countries have banned cluster munitions. They have been long understood to be more indiscriminate than conventional weapons, given [that] they randomly disperse small bombs over large areas."
Kyiv has set its sights on one such DPICM – the MK-20, which disperses 240 dart-like bomblets after being fired. For the meantime, it relies on cluster bombs quietly obtained from other countries part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Foreign Policy earlier reported that Turkey began sending U.S.-designed artillery-fired cluster munitions to Ukraine last fall.
However, Arab American Institute President James J. Zogby remarked in a tweet that the president's hesitation on sending DPICMs to Kyiv was justified.
"Biden's right to not send cluster bombs to Ukraine. They're an insidious weapon," he tweeted. "In the [1980s], I brought kids from Lebanon who'd lost limbs to Israel's use of cluster bombs."
"We shouldn't have them. They should [be] banned [and] using them should be a war crime."
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