daphne bramham: u.s. cluster munitions threaten ukrainians as much as russians
opinion: by promising cluster munitions, america heads down a familiar path. for ukraine and especially its citizens, it carries long-term risks
4 minute read
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a decade ago in laos, i learned about how that southeast asian country was devastated by an estimated 270 million small cluster bombs that americans dropped on it during the 1960s and 1970s. cluster bombs or similar munitions are meant to open in mid-air, dispersing smaller bomblets that spread hundreds of small metal fragments over a wide area. they’re designed to rip through tanks, personnel carriers and human flesh.
of those bombs dropped on laos, close to 30 per cent never exploded either mid-air or on the ground. as recently as 2022, the country continued to be described as “massively contaminated” with more than 1,000 square kilometres that remain to be cleared.
the vietnam war ended in april 1975 and since then, an estimated 20,000 laotians — mostly children — have died or been maimed because the united states and other countries have yet to provide enough funding to remove the lethal weapons.
many of the unexploded bomblets look like yellow tennis balls, which makes them especially attractive to children in a poor country where toys are a rarity. and one reason that laos remains poor is because of all the unexploded bombs.
in 2013, an average of one person a day either died or was injured by what they call “bombies.” today, it’s little better.
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in 2008, canada was among the countries that fought hard for the convention on cluster munitions, an international treaty aimed at ending this warfare against the innocent. so far, 123 countries have signed it.
the united states is not one of them. nor is ukraine. nor is russia.
these facts are now deeply underscored both by president joe biden’s stupefyingly sad decision to ship cluster munitions — specifically, artillery shells — to ukraine and ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy’s equally tragic willingness to use them.
ukraine’s president volodymyr zelensky gives a medal to us president joe biden in the oval office of the white house, in washington, dc on december 21, 2022.
brendan smialowski
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afp via getty images
earlier this month, human rights watch provided evidence that cluster munitions are already being used by both ukraine and russia.
the report notes that russia’s extensive use in 10 of ukraine’s 24 regions has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties, while ukraine’s cluster-munition rocket attacks last year on russian-controlled areas in and around the city of izium killed at least eight civilians and wounded 15 more — including children.
if you’re squeamish about reality, skip the next paragraph, which summarizes descriptions human rights watch obtained from a ukrainian father whose son was killed on may 17, 2022, by a cluster bomb and corroborated by neighbours.
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the boy had been lying on the couch when the bomb struck. it created a crater that swallowed both him and the couch. his legs were sticking out. his arm was ripped off and “a big piece of metal” was stuck in his head. he screamed and whimpered before he bled to death.
when news first broke that russia was using cluster bombs in ukraine, biden’s press secretary suggested that it might constitute a war crime.
now, biden is saying that while it took him time to agree, he’s convinced that there is no other choice than to supply more to ukraine because it’s running out of artillery shells and the united states can’t ramp up production fast enough to meet its needs.
both biden and u.s. national security adviser jake sullivan defend the decision to send cluster munitions by noting that ukraine’s defence minister has promised not to use them in urban areas and only to break through enemy lines.
they also argue that american cluster munitions are safer than russian ones. the dud rate for u.s. munitions — the percentage that don’t explode mid-air or when they land — is 2.5 per cent compared to russia’s 30 to 40 per cent.
wagner mercenary group fighters wave flags of russia and wagner group on top of a building in an unidentified location, in the course of the russia-ukraine conflict, in this still image obtained from a video released on may 20, 2023, along with a statement by russian mercenary chief yevgeny prigozhin about taking full control of the ukrainian city of bakhmut.
press service of 'concord'
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via reuters
human rights watch, however, has challenged those statements citing defence department reports that listed the failure rate at 14 per cent.
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so, to summarize the american position: war crimes are ok if they’re necessary with necessary being a mutable truth told by people on the “right” side of the war.
while no doubt well-meaning, it’s almost laughable that democratic congresswoman barbara lee has suggested that biden’s decision will cost the united states “moral leadership.”
for some, that ship sailed when it dropped nuclear bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki, even though that ended the second world war.
for others, it might be one of the other u.s. interventions that ended badly even though cluster bombs were used. places like vietnam, iraq, syria and afghanistan.
ukrainian defence minister oleksii reznikov has promised to keep strict records of the cluster munition use and provide that to its allies to prove that their use was essential and only targeted russian troops.
as for zelenskyy, the decision to use them in his own country and potentially harm his own citizens threatens to topple the ukrainian president from the moral high ground that he occupied since russia invaded nearly 17 months ago.
up until now, zelenskyy has been the west’s democratic darling.
he is the hero to putin’s villain. he’s set every foot right to engage allied support that along the way has strengthened the north american treaty organization as well as european alliances.
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up until now, zelenskyy has not only defied all expectations about his ability to conduct a war against russia, he’s raised hopes that ukraine can defeat a world super power’s army and its mercenaries.
what cost is zelenskyy willing to pay to win or to secure peace?
for now, he’s promised only limited use of the cluster munitions.
but if that isn’t enough?
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