President Joe Biden’s decision to include the cluster bombs in the latest $800 million weapons package for Ukraine has drawn mixed reactions from members of Congress, with some Democrats breaking with Biden.
“Cluster bombs should never be used. It crosses a line,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “I think the president [has] good job in managing this war, this war of aggression by Putin against Ukraine. But I think that shouldn’t happen.
Lee is not alone. Several leading Democrats have spoken out against the decision, saying the supply of weapons, which are banned by more than 120 countries under the Geneva Convention, will likely result in civilian deaths.
“What I think is that we risk losing our moral leadership,” Lee said. “And so I hope the administration will reconsider that because these are very dangerous bombs, they are dangerous weapons and that’s a line that I don’t believe we should cross.”
The Biden administration itself has expressed differing views on whether the weapons are a violation of international law. Former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki has previously said Russia’s use of such weapons could potentially constitute a war crime.
In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Biden said it was “a very difficult decision” to send cluster munitions to Ukraine.
“But the main thing is that they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now from their – to stop them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive in these areas, or they don’t. And I think they had them. need,” Biden said in the interview. , broadcast on Sunday on “Fareed Zakaria GPS”.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Ukrainians were still much less likely to kill civilians than Russians. “I think we can all agree that more civilians have been and will continue to be killed by Russian forces with – whether it’s cluster munitions, drones, missile attacks or simply frontal assaults – than those who are likely to be injured by the use of these cluster munitions fired at Russian positions inside Ukrainian territory.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) also came to Biden’s defense. “It was a very difficult decision. The president, really, he listened to all parties,” Coons said during an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” adding that the Ukrainians “risked losing this counter- offensive if they ran”. come out of their shell.”
Some Republicans applauded the administration’s decision.
“It should have happened a long time ago. Russia has been using them for a long time,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said on “Fox News Sunday,” saying the Biden administration must continue to “step up” its support. from Ukraine.
Representative of House Foreign Affairs Speaker Michael McCaul (R-Texas) echoed those remarks on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
All “the Ukrainians and Zelenskyy are asking for is to give them the same weapons that the Russians have to use in their own country against the Russians who are in their own country,” McCaul said.
“They would be a game-changer in the counteroffensive, and I’m glad the administration finally agreed to do that.”