Germany opposes sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, minister says

Reuters ^ | 7/7/23 | Reuters

[hardspunned]

VIENNA, July 7 (Reuters) - Germany opposes sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, its foreign minister said on Friday, a day after U.S. officials said Washington was planning to provide Kyiv with the weapons, widely denounced for killing and maiming civilians. Human rights organisations oppose such a move and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Germany, as one of 111 states party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), did as well. The United States is not a party to the convention.

[hardspunned]

The US is doing the humanitarian thing here. The are sending the batches of cluster bombs with the lowest “dud rate” to cut down on the number of Uke kids they plan on killing over the next few years. By the way, who does DC ship the high dud rate munitions to? Africa looks like the ticket. Huge market and those kids don’t even look like most of ours.

[janetjanet998]

The Washington Post

@washingtonpost
President Biden is prepared to waive U.S. law prohibiting the production, use or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1 percent to send them to Ukraine, amid concerns about Kyiv’s lagging counteroffensive against Russian troops.

[janetjanet998]

Glenn Greenwald

@ggreenwald
Cluster bombs are banned by a convention signed by more than 100 countries, including many NATO allies. Because of their huge civilian toll, their use has long been seen as a war crime (including by the US when used by Bad Countries™),

Biden is now sending them to Ukraine 🇺🇦.

[dforest]

If the US went any lower it would have no standards. The US Uniparty and it’s neocon warmongers have the “standards that we see now of the Democrat party. US “values” are that of the RAT Party.

[JonPreston]

Some say domestic blowback related to our foreign policy is inevitable.

[AppyPappy]

Great. Something else for Russia to blow up.

[bert]

US values are broader than those of the current crop of neo isolationists feeling their oats

[Timber Rattler]

Good thing the Germans have no say in the matter. They’ll get over it.

[Timber Rattler]

Get back to me when that actually happens. LOL!

Most Americans support US arming Ukraine, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows

[AAABEST]

The USA wants to commit war crimes - the Germans apparently don’t.

I have a buddy who lost half his foot from these.

[dforest]

Baloney LOL

[tlozo]

to cut down on the number of Uke kids they plan on killing over the next few years.

Right, as opposed the Ukrainian kids killed every time russian missiles are fired at civilian targets way behind the lines of conflict.

[elpadre]

The US may not be part of the Convention but it is part of and it is NATO pledged to arm Ukraine.

[tlozo]

Cluster bombs are banned by a convention signed by more than 100 countries

So are anti-personnel mines, so what?

Should we also ban mines, and then have to station more US servicemen in Korea?

[JonPreston]

Warmonger Lindsey Graham was boo’d off the stage in South Carolina, that’s a real poll.

[BobL]

There are still MILLIONS of Russian speaking civilians in Ukraine...how can the Neocons NOT want them dead?

[allendale]

Will blood lust ever be satiated and will this meat grinder ever end?

[ansel12]

Russia has long been using cluster bombs in Ukraine on civilian targets, even the Ukrainians have used a few cluster bombs and need them for those incredibly fortified Russian positions.

“the Trump administration rolled back that policy, allowing commanders to approve use of such munitions”

“The Defense Department had been due by 2019 to stop use of any cluster munitions with a rate of unexploded ordnance greater than 1%. But the Trump administration rolled back that policy, allowing commanders to approve use of such munitions.”

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-cluster-munition-war-7332fa86b3c52d1ea8d63f92a7d5c2cb

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

--- "If the US went any lower it would have no standards. The US Uniparty and it's neocon warmongers have the 'standards' that we see now of the Democrat party. US 'values' are that of the RAT Party'."

Let us recall the rationale that led the US into the Iraq war, with accusations of Chemical Ali and "nerve gas." And then let us review the fact that Russia, the United States and Ukraine are among the nations not signatories to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

Russia has used them, one learns. One doesn't want to learn that we have as well, and often. Look at the Wiki article and particularly the caption of the first graphic in that page. It reads "U.S. Honest John missile warhead cutaway around 1960, showing M134 bomblets filled with Sarin."

Yup. Sarin. Yup. 1960. So all the chitter chat about chemical weapons has been rather incomplete it seems. Who's been using cluster bombs? Russians. Ukrainians. And Americans.

Example: "Evidence mounts for use of banned mines by Ukrainian forces"

Source: Evidence mounts for use of banned mines by Ukrainian forces

So whose hands are dirty in this "cluster munitions" war? Russia. Ukraine. Our United States. Try an untangle that one. Chemical weapons. Cluster munitions. Quite a party the world is having, and it seems to be anything but simple. Whose Sarin is the correct Sarin? Whose cluster munitions are the righteous cluster munitions? The game escalates, and shortly the question will be whose nuclear weapons will any of the above nations survive? Bomblets, anyone? They might be okay, if they are Biden-esque, speedy and united in Methodism....

Talk about standards.... Thanks for posting your comment.

[McGruff]

Good thing the Germans have no say in the matter.

Germany could withdraw from NATO or better yet kick US out.