Related Democrats Are Squandering Their Chance to Ban Cluster Bomb Sales The White House did not respond to a request for comment. None of the other members responded with their own position on the issue. To clarify a misconception, I am open to having the conversation about this issue with the understanding that crucially important questions be addressed.” Ukraine wants such weapons as a part of their efforts to take back their territory and force Putin to the negotiating table. “Russia is already using cluster munitions and has left unexploded ordnance all over Ukraine. How would the weapons be used? What effect would such action have on the worldwide coalition in support of Ukraine? How might it affect support for Ukraine within the Democratic Caucus and Congress?” As I have said previously, for the United States to consider providing Ukraine with cluster munitions there are several critical questions that need to be answered. “I am not open to sending cluster munitions right now. Shortly afterward, Tracy Manzer, communications director for the House Armed Services Democrats, wrote to The Intercept to address its “outreach to other Members of the HASC.” In her email, Manzer provided quotes from Smith seeking to clarify his position. responded at all, asking for a deadline to provide comment. Only two representatives - Donald Norcross, D-N.J., and Sara Jacobs, D-Calif. military support to Ukraine, seeking comment on each member’s stance on the issue. In order to gauge congressional support for the transfer of munitions banned by over 100 countries, The Intercept contacted the other 27 Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee, which conducts oversight on U.S. These weapons have not been used by the United States in more than a decade.” That Representative Smith did not fully cut off the possibility is also wrongheaded. “It’s frustrating that much of what you’re hearing from is a call for sending cluster munitions. “As long as the administration holds the line, keeping with the approach that so many of our NATO allies and others in the global community takes, that will be positive,” said Jeff Abramson, senior fellow at the Arms Control Association. to further erode standing norms of civilian protection. The administration seems unlikely to approve sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, but that the idea is even on the table has raised concerns among international security advocates about the disintegration of humanitarian law and the potential for the U.S. While most of those calls have come from Republicans, Smith’s openness to the idea, amid a general bipartisan consensus on sending arms to Ukraine, shows that congressional pressure is ramping up. lawmakers continue to press the administration to provide the weapons. The Biden administration has expressed concerns about Ukraine’s requests, but it also hasn’t rejected them outright - and U.S. Ukraine has asked the United States to provide it with cluster bombs, which Russian troops have deployed against Ukrainian civilians and which Ukraine has reportedly used as well. This followed comments Smith made a week earlier at a Council on Foreign Relations event where he similarly described the pros and cons of sending cluster munitions to Ukraine. “If our cluster munitions could bring the war to a conclusion sooner, it’s something I’m open to,” Smith said. To the extent that we’re unable to provide sufficient ammo in other areas, they could certainly fill that gap.” He also framed the munitions as a potential way to end a conflict with no end in sight. In a May interview with Politico, Smith said that the advantage of cluster munitions “is we have a lot of them. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said recently that he is keeping the door open to sending cluster munitions - widely banned around the world due to their track record of maiming and killing civilians - to Ukraine.
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