Several Democrats in Congress are echoing concerns from human rights groups that the munitions will harm civilians in Ukraine.
WASHINGTON — Several congressional Democrats on Friday expressed frustration with the Biden administration over its decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine in the next U.S. military aid package.
The lawmakers echoed warnings from human rights groups that the surface-to-surface warheads, which disperse small munitions or bombs over wide areas, can explode after battle and sometimes injure or kill innocent people.
“Cluster munitions are illegal under international law,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said in a statement announcing that she plans to introduce an amendment with Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., to the annual defense policy bill that would ban the sale of cluster munitions.
“We can support the people of Ukraine in their freedom struggle, while also opposing violations of international law,” Omar said, noting that the munitions are banned in more than 100 countries.
Jacobs announced her opposition to the munitions transfer in a statement Thursday, saying she was “disappointed and alarmed” by the forthcoming move.
The Pentagon announced the planned transfer of the munitions, along with other weapons, on Friday afternoon.
Ukraine has been asking for the munitions since last year, when Russia invaded. The U.S. hopes the weapons will help Ukraine fill military stockpiles, especially the 155mm artillery round, two U.S. officials told Us.Mistertruth.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., who served in the Air Force, said in a statement Friday that while she has been a proponent of providing resources and weapon systems to the U.S. ally, victory in Ukraine “cannot come at the expense of our American values and thus democracy itself.
“Cluster munitions are indiscriminate, and I strongly oppose providing these weapons to Ukraine,” she said. “History remembers not only who wins a war but also how a war is won.”
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., who’s been outspoken on U.S. military issues for years, said Thursday that she was “alarmed” by the administration’s decision.
“Cluster bombs work by scattering tiny ‘bomblets’ over a wide area. Many of these bomblets don’t explode—but remain a threat to civilians for decades,” she tweeted. “The Ukrainian people are engaged in a just struggle for their rights, freedom and humanity. The US and Ukraine don’t need to stoop to Putin’s level.”
In a statement Friday, Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said that President Joe Biden should “listen to our NATO allies,” noting that “the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain…oppose sending cluster munitions to Ukraine for the same reasons.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday on the criticism from Democratic lawmakers.
Biden signed a presidential waiver on the transfer of the weapons in recent days, two officials said. U.S. law requires the president to sign a waiver before exporting cluster munitions with a more than a 1% dud rate. The duds are the unexploded bomblets that can result from the use of the munitions.
Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., said in a statement that the administration’s decision was an “unnecessary and a terrible mistake.”
“Congress has been clear in prohibiting the transfer of any cluster munition with a dud rate of greater than 1%,” she said. “Allowing legacy U.S. cluster munitions onto the battlefield in Ukraine undermines our moral authority and places the U.S. in a position that directly contradicts 23 of our NATO allies who have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions.”
Asked by a reporter Friday afternoon why he decided to send Ukraine the cluster munitions now, Biden said, “They’re running out of ammunition.”
Many Republicans in Congress have applauded Biden’s move.
In a joint statement from GOP leaders on the House and Senate committees overseeing foreign affairs, the top Republicans on those panels said the munitions will “help fill a key gap for Ukraine’s military” and will allow Ukraine’s forces “to target and eliminate Russian forces more efficiently.”
Some Republican lawmakers, however, denounced Biden’s decision, but not for the same reasons as their Democratic colleagues.
“Instead of focusing on a peaceful solution, Biden is sending us into WWIII,” tweeted Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.
Republicans, both on and off Capitol Hill, have largely been divided over U.S. involvement in Ukraine. Many conservatives have argued that the billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine would be better spent at home, or that the focus should be on China instead of Russia.