Congressional Democrats knock Biden for sending cluster bombs to Ukraine: 'That’s crossing a line'
A group of congressional Democrats broke with President Joe Biden’s decision to send controversial weapons known as cluster munitions to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“Cluster bombs should never be used. That’s crossing a line,” Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
The White House’s decision to send the weapons has been met with backlash not only domestically but also from NATO allies who have criticized the use of the weapons, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Spain.
The decision has been met with opposition because of the indiscriminate harm to civilians the weapons could cause. The weapons, which have been banned by more than 100 countries, disperse smaller explosives called “bomblets.” In some cases, bomblets do not detonate on impact and can explode later.
“Once you see what takes place, we know what takes place in terms of cluster bombs in being very dangerous to civilians,” Lee said. “They don’t always immediately explode. Children could step on them.”
Stay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter
Biden conceded that sending the weapons was a “very difficult decision” but said he believed Ukraine needs “the ammunition” in an interview with CNN. He added the weapons have a “very low dud rate” and will not be used in civilian areas.
Lee warned the U.S. could risk losing its “moral leadership” given the destructive nature of the weapons.
“I’m hoping that the administration would reconsider this because these are very dangerous bombs, they’re dangerous weapons, and this is a line that I don’t believe we should cross.”
Nineteen House progressives, including Lee, signed on to a letter Friday decrying the move, saying “there is no such thing as a safe cluster bomb.”
The decision has also been met with skepticism from some Senate Democrats.
“I have some real qualms about it,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It could give a green light to other nations to do something different as well, so it causes me some concern.”
Visualized: Graphics examine cluster bombs, controversial weapons the US will send to Ukraine
Kaine, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee, added he appreciated the White House’s evaluation of the decision and believes Kyiv’s assurances the weapons will not target Russian civilians.
In an op-ed in The Washington Post, former Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. Jeff Merkeley, D-Ore., wrote, “The last thing we need is to risk a rupture with key allies over a weapon that the United States should be leading the global effort to prohibit.”
But other Senate Democrats, including Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., openly supported the move in a joint statement along with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
"Ukraine’s success is a national security imperative for us, and they have asked for these rounds to deploy in self-defense on their own soil because they see it as critical to their survival," Kelly said in a statement last week.
Biden has also found support from congressional Republicans.
“All the Ukrainians and (Ukrainian President Volodmyr) Zelenskyy are asking for is to give them the same weapons the Russians have to use in their own country,” Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chair of the House Foreign Affairs committee, said on CNN's "State of the Union."
“They want these as self-defense to use against Russians in their own country of Ukraine. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”