NOURNEWS- The US has moved to give Ukraine cluster munitions as Kiev and Washington are running out of ordinary ammunition, The administration of President Joe Biden confirmed the move on Friday. The transfer comes as Ukraine finds itself helpless and pushes on with a counteroffensive against Russian troops in the east of the country.
"This is a war relating to munitions. And they’re running out of that ammunition, and we’re low on it," Biden said. "And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to - not permanently - but to allow for this transition period, while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians," he said. Biden said it was a "difficult decision."
The decision of the US to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions comes at the same time while the UN Security Council holds a meeting so the US and its allies can accuse Iran of sending drones and dangerous munitions to Russia even though, they don’t have any proof of their dangerous accusations.
At the meeting, US Deputy ambassador Robert Wood, while accusing Iran and Russia participating in the transfer of drones used in Ukraine without prior Security Council approval in contravention of the 2015 resolution said: “This is a matter of life or death for the Ukrainian people and civilians” Wood said.
At the same time, The US, the leader of hypocrites on Friday officially announced it would transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine with no regards towards the same civilians which they use to accuse our country of harming. The announcement didn’t specify the exact number of munitions to be provided.
What is a cluster munition?
Cluster bombs can contain hundreds of bomblets. When the bomb is detonated in the air, the bomblets are scattered over an area of tens of square meters. Some of them do not explode immediately and remain on the ground, posing a threat to civilians long after the conflict has ended. The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which was adopted in 2008, has been joined by 111 countries, and another 12 have signed but not yet ratified it.
According to the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch, the proportion of unexploded submunitions is usually significantly higher than stated.
What's the 'dud rate' and why is it important?
The dud rate refers to the percentage of unexploded rounds. In previous conflicts, cluster munitions have had a high dud rate, which meant that thousands of the unexploded bomblets remained behind and killed and maimed civilians. That's happened recently in conflicts in Syria and Yemen, but the grisly impact can be felt decades later, as seen in parts of Southeast Asia, where people are still killed by explosives from the Vietnam War, Afghanistan and US invasion of Iraq. In all of these horrendous wars, the US is the main culprit and the real danger against humanity and civilians.
Most of US allies – including Britain, Germany and France – signed on to the UN’s Convention on banning the use of Cluster Munitions in 2008. America and Ukraine never signed the treaty, insisting that there are circumstances in which use of the weapons is necessary. But without their agreement in regards to this law, the use of cluster munitions is a crime against humanity itself.
On Friday, Farhan Haq, a spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, reiterated the UN chief’s support for the Convention on Cluster Munitions. “He wants countries to abide by the terms of that convention, and so as a result, of course, he does not want there to be continued use of cluster munitions on the battlefield,” Haq said.
But NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg suggested that the alliance does not take a position on the issue, leaving it to the individual states to make their own policies and with this way of thought, Western countries will not oppose the Biden’s administration decision to send cluster munition to Ukraine.
Even though according to their own diplomats such as former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, the use of cluster bombs is a war crime.
The West has always used double standards to control the current and corrupt world order, their violation of international rules is obvious. The US, Britain, France and Germany will always change the international rules according to their own goals and agendas while using baseless accusations against other countries such as Iran, Russia and China to impose their own narrations and have an excuse for interfering.
BY: Homayoun Barkhor
NOURNEWS