RFK Jr. Condemns Biden For Sending Controversial Cluster Bombs To Ukraine
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is climbing in the polls as President Joe Biden’s strongest primary challenger, has condemned the Biden administration for their decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine.
Despite previously expressing their opposition to cluster bombs, the Biden administration announced on Friday that they would be including the controversial munitions in their latest $800 million weapons package to Ukraine.
According to The Blaze, cluster bombs “are weapons fired from land, air, or sea that release… hundreds of submunitions to ensure that a large area can be blanketed with explosives.”
As cluster bombs can pose a threat to civilians even years after being used, the weapons have been widely condemned by the international community. Currently, 123 countries have already joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions — which prohibits the stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster bombs — but the U.S., Ukraine and Russia have refused to join the convention.
“Regardless, the use of cluster munitions in areas with civilians makes an attack indiscriminate in violation of international humanitarian law, and possibly a war crime,” Human Rights Watch states.
Out of the 141 casualties from “cluster bomb remnants, 97% were civilians, and two-thirds of those were children,” according to CBS News.
Despite these concerning facts, the Biden administration has defended its decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine — which directly contradicts comments from Biden in 1982, where he attacked Israel after reports claimed that the country had used cluster bombs when they invaded Lebanon in an attempt to stop terrorist attacks in Israel.
According to the Washington Post, “Amid reports that Israel had used cluster bombs in its invasion of Lebanon, some Democrats went so far as to push for cutting off aid to Israel… Biden said that if those reports were accurate, then Israel was clearly in violation. He said the United States should respond by ‘cutting off the ability to get access to that kind of weaponry in the future.’”
In several tweets, Kennedy blasted the Biden administration’s decision to send these dangerous weapons to Ukraine.
“Cluster bombs are munitions so horrific for civilians that more than a hundred nations have signed an international treaty banning them. Now the Biden administration is preparing to send them to Ukraine,” he wrote.
“These munitions scatter bomblets across the landscape. Many fail to explode — until children pick them up later,” Kennedy added in a follow-up tweet. “They have caused thousands of injuries and deaths to civilians.”
In another tweet, Kennedy cited Biden’s previous vow to bring back “diplomacy” — which is not the reality of his presidency, as he has refused to consider supporting peace negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and would rather spend billions in American taxpayer dollars to prolong the endless war.
“In February 2021, President Biden promised us ‘diplomacy is back.’ But now the WH rejects talks to end the war in Ukraine + sends cluster bombs instead. It would be nice to see our president put as much energy into talks as he does into sending weapons,” Kennedy tweeted.
“Cluster bombs are supposed to be used as a weapon of last resort. But we were told Russia is divided + Ukraine is winning the war. Why not use the opportunity to propose a favorable peace?” he continued.
“Biden seems to be saying we’re sending cluster bombs to Ukraine because we’re running out of other munitions. Looks like a pretext for even more military spending to me. The time has come to offer diplomatic alternatives to war + bring both sides to negotiating table,” he argued in another tweet.
