Pentagon believes banned cluster munitions would be useful for Ukraine
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The US could defy a worldwide ban to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions for Kiev to use in the war in Ukraine.
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Cluster bombs in possession of the US army. August 24, 2013. (AFP)
Despite it being banned by most countries, the US military believes supplying Ukraine with cluster bombs could be useful against Russia. Laura Cooper, the US Defense Department's deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, made the statements on Thursday when speaking to US legislators.
The Ukrainian government has urged members of Congress to put pressure on President Joe Biden's administration to accept the shipment of Dual-Purpose Conventional Improved Munitions (DPICM). Cooper stated that congressional constraints and concerns from US allies are the reasons why such munitions have not yet been approved for Kiev.
Cooper, on the other hand, acknowledged that the Pentagon feels they are valuable in terms of battlefield efficacy. "Our military analysts have confirmed that DPICMs would be useful, especially against dug-in Russian positions on the battlefield,” she told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing.
"The reason why you have not seen a move forward in providing this capability relates both to the existing congressional restrictions on the provision of DPICMs and concerns about allied unity," Cooper added.
So far, the Biden administration has refused to deliver any cluster munitions to Ukraine.
Despite the fact that Congress has prohibited the export of such weapons, media sites such as Politico have speculated that Biden and possibly his Secretary of State Antony Blinken may conceivably circumvent this prohibition.
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An American military consultant to Ukraine has also asked Washington to supply Kiev forces cluster munitions to confront Russia.
In December of last year, Dan Rice stated that the US "really needs" to arm Kiev's military with cluster bombs in order to boost "base lethality" and "win the war" against Russia.
Cluster bombs are prohibited under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international convention that, through a categorical prohibition and a framework for action, tackles the humanitarian repercussions and unacceptable harm inflicted on civilians by cluster munitions.
The missiles can include dozens of tiny bomblets that disperse across broad distances, frequently killing and maiming bystanders long after they are dropped. The convention prohibits the use, manufacture, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster bombs. Thus, the deal has been signed by over 100 countries, however, the United States has not.
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