International People's Front
The Resist US-Led War Movement condemns the reckless decision by the US government to supply cluster munitions to the Ukrainian military.[1] This will not only escalate the fighting in Ukraine, sending chances of a peaceful resolution further from reach, but it will make the war much more costly for civilian casualties, as has been proven by countless studies on the indiscriminate use of these deadly bombs.
Cluster munitions have been banned by over 120 countries and are sanctioned by the UN.[2] Cluster munitions became subject to UN convention due to their indiscriminate violence. These weapons take the form of a missile filled with smaller “bomblets” that are ejected in all directions when fired, spreading a series of explosions throughout an entire blast area. This makes them impossible to fire with precision, as by nature, they are meant to cause maximum damage to where they are fired.[3] They can also be armed with depleted uranium to make them “dirty” bombs spreading long-lasting radioactive debris.[4]
In addition, many of these bomblets do not explode upon impact. They can remain pieces of active ordinance for long periods, causing harm and death to civilians who are unknowingly walking near them when they explode. This makes their use by the US and their procurement to other countries illegal under international law, and it has even garnered criticism from the US’s own NATO allies such as the UK, Canada, and Spain.[5][6] The US and Russia, the US’ main target in the NATO proxy war in Ukraine, have not signed onto the treaty banning cluster munitions, meaning that Ukraine will become a further hellscape for civilians.[7]
This has been proven in areas bombed by Israel – a key ally and satellite state of the US, which has also not signed onto the UN convention against cluster munitions.[8] Israeli air raids are notorious worldwide for their incredibly high civilian death rate. The US has proved that it fully intends to make Ukraine, which has also refused to sign the convention, play a similar role to Israel as a satellite state and puppet military force. This further enables the US to sit back and appear to keep its hands clean while they force others to fight their wars of aggression.
NATO weapons to Ukraine have brought the war further from peace every step of the way. First with intermediate missiles, then tanks, then fighter jets, followed by promises of long-range missiles and advanced fighter jets at the G7 Summit, and now cluster munitions – these acts highlight how far in harm’s way the US and NATO are willing to put civilians in their desperate attempt to keep the post-Cold War unipolar world order in place.[9][10][11][12] With talks of so-called “tactical nuclear weapons” remaining on the table, this move could set a dangerous precedent.[13][14] Since so much fighting has been taking place within city outskirts in Ukraine, this development marks a harrowing future for Ukrainian and Russian-speaking civilians caught in the middle of the US’s deadly gamble against the political rise of Russia.
With this act of sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, the US has proven that it intends to disregard international humanitarian law whenever it chooses. As the 2023 NATO Summit begins in Vilnius, Lithuania, the world’s people must unite their voices in rage to hold the regime in Washington accountable for this dangerous act!
[1] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/kirby-explains-us-sending-controversial-cluster-munitions-ukraine/story?id=100903339
[2] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/7/us-to-give-ukraine-widely-banned-cluster-munitions-despite-fears
[3] http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/en-gb/cluster-bombs/what-is-a-cluster-bomb.aspx
[4] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-65051330
[5] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-66142554
[6] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-09/ukraines-supply-of-cluster-bombs-from-us-cops-criticism-from-hu/102580548
[7] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-10829976
[8] https://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/12/25/israel.cluster.bombs/index.html
[9] https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/26/politics/us-missile-defense-system-ukraine-coming-announcement/index.html
[10] https://news.yahoo.com/russia-fumes-over-nato-tanks-heading-to-ukraine-revealing-a-kremlin-coming-to-grips-with-reality-154959457.html
[11] https://www.newsweek.com/fighter-jets-ukraine-full-list-poland-slovakia-russia-1788795
[12] https://www.npr.org/2023/05/21/1177394656/ukraine-zelenskyy-russia-g7-f16
[13] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60664169
[14] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/28/ukraine-nato-russia-nuclear-weapons-devastating-poland-foreign-minister
