{"id":1967215,"date":"2023-07-07T21:35:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-08T01:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-faces-strong-opposition-from-his-own-party-on-cluster-munitions\/"},"modified":"2023-07-07T21:37:58","modified_gmt":"2023-07-08T01:37:58","slug":"biden-faces-strong-opposition-from-his-own-party-on-cluster-munitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-faces-strong-opposition-from-his-own-party-on-cluster-munitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden&#8217;s Party Opposes Cluster Munitions"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">10<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-faces-strong-opposition-from-his-own-party-on-cluster-munitions%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1967215&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<h2>The Biden Administration&#8217;s Controversial Decision<\/h2>\n<p>The decision of the Biden administration, following several months of internal debate, to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-to-send-cluster-bombs-to-ukraine\/\" title=\"U.S. to provide Ukraine with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wish-i-could-share-more-intelligence-committees-marco-rubio-warns-something-is-off-with-putin\/\" title=\"\u2018Wish I Could Share More\u2019: Intelligence Committee\u2019s Marco Rubio Warns \u2018Something Is Off With Putin\u2019\">cluster bombs<\/a>.&#8221;>include cluster munitions<\/a> as part of its new $800 million aid package to Ukraine is opposed by members of his own party in Congress, who otherwise are allies of the administration\u2019s support of the nation in its war with Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Congressional Democrats posted on their websites and made Twitter statements condemning the decision.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) is an Air Force veteran who has been a steadfast backer of the administration\u2019s Ukraine policy, but she thinks that arming Ukraine with cluster munitions is wrong.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom the outset of Russia\u2019s unjust war, I have been one of the most vocal and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boris-johnson-the-next-prime-minister\/\" title=\"Boris Johnson: The Next Prime Minister?\">supportive members<\/a> of Congress when it comes to providing Ukraine the resources and weapon systems they need to defend themselves and their sovereignty,\u201d said Ms. Houlahan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe a victory for Ukraine is an essential victory for democracies across the globe, but that victory 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3195490\" style=\"width: 525px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/01\/06\/chrissy-houlahan-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n    Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) prepares to be interviewed on television just outside the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Dec. 17, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)<br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<h2>Controversial Weapons<\/h2>\n<p>First used in World War II, cluster munitions\u2014also called cluster bombs\u2014are containers that open in the air and disperse as many as a few dozen to 600 explosives, sometimes called bomblets, across tens of thousands of square meters of territory. The munitions can be delivered by drops from aircraft and by artillery and missile strikes.<\/p>\n<p>Cluster munitions are controversial.<\/p>\n<p>Although the bomblets are intended to explode on impact, many do not yet remain active for years and can detonate when civilians, including children (who can mistake them for toys), come in contact with the explosives. As well, a high percentage of cluster bombs are free-floating, not precision-guided, and can drift into civilian areas.<\/p>\n<p>In his remarks on July 7 announcing that the United States will supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, national security adviser Jake Sullivan addressed the risks to civilians while arguing that the consequences of not providing the weapons would be worse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, the bottom line is this, we recognize the cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance,\u201d said Mr. Sullivan. \u201cThis is why we deferred the decision for as long as we could.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians. Because Ukraine does not have enough artillery.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5332890\" style=\"width: 525px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/06\/14\/id5332890-AP23153087319076-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n    White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House on April 24, 2023. (Andrew Harnik\/AP Photo)<br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<h2>Democrats Strongly Object<\/h2>\n<p>A general concern held by Democrats is that supplying Ukraine with cluster bombs makes the United States complicit in humanitarian offenses while also ceding the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-jr-tells-gop-to-get-tough-if-democrats-are-playing-hardball-then-we-got-to-play-hardball\/\" title=\"Trump Jr. Tells GOP To Get Tough: If Democrats Are \u2018Playing Hardball\u2019 Then \u2018We Got To Play Hardball\u2019\">moral high ground<\/a> in its involvement in a conflict that is widely regarded to have resulted from Russian aggression.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) is another lawmaker who believes that the United States should aid Ukraine, but not with cluster munitions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe decision by the Biden administration to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine is unnecessary and a terrible mistake,\u201d said Ms. McCollum. \u201cCongress has been clear in prohibiting the transfer of any cluster munition with a dud rate of greater than 1 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAllowing 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Democratic House members Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Sara Jacobs of California said they will introduce an amendment to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-faces-strong-opposition-from-his-own-party-on-cluster-munitions\/\" title=\"Biden's Party Opposes Cluster Munitions\">annual national defense bill<\/a> to prohibit the United States from selling cluster munitions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCluster munitions are illegal under international law. A total of 123 countries have ratified the<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opposing their own party&#8217;s decision, Congressional Democrats are against the inclusion of cluster munitions in the Biden administration&#8217;s $800 million aid package to Ukraine. Despite being allies in supporting Ukraine&#8217;s war with Russia, internal debate within the administration led to this controversial move.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1640,"featured_media":1967216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1967215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1640"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1967215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1967215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1967216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1967215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1967215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1967215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}