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Biden Defends Decision to Send Cluster Bombs to Ukraine
(scheerpost.com)
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this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2023
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I don't see how that justifies the use of bombs that nearly invariably risk the lives of innocent citizens.
I get that Russia is fucking shit up right now and very likely committing war crimes themselves, but not every Russian citizen is to blame, and the entire issue here is that giving these over increases risks of murdering innocents in attempts to win the war.
I'm not sure stooping to their level and hurting innocents on the path to victory is the best solution.
Biden could be working on fast-tracking Ukraine NATO membership and giving everybody else a reason to actually do more than send weapons, but he claims they are "not ready." Also, couldn't Ukraine's use of cluster bombs, if used to commit war crimes, end up being another political roadblock to getting them into NATO?
I'm not sure that NATO cares much whether it's members commit war crimes. Must be a very, very new policy if it does.
Can states join NATO while at war?
As for war crimes, article one states: ""settle any international disputes in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered, and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations."
So only so much as war crimes are inconsistent with the UN. In short, probably do care. But only as much as "refrain".
As for the second question: no. Can't join if at war. Why tho? I can't find a clear answer. The arguments range from: no, because that put article 5 in conflict with article 1. No, because then that means war with Russia and nobody wants that. No, because the process to join NATO requires political, economic and military integration that cannot occur while a country is at war.
Eh, I'm not convinced by some of those.
It really depends where they use them. If they use them purely on open battlefields then it's not such an issue.
Let's also not forget during ww2 the allies leveled plenty of German cities.
What is an "open battlefield" during a war is no longer a battlefield after the war is over. After the war is over, if you've littered what used to be a battlefield with unexploded bombs, you've ruined that area of land and made it extremely dangerous to civilians.