US plans to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, officials say

NightOwl@lemmy.fmhy.ml to World News@lemmy.ml – 75 points –
US plans to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, officials say
reuters.com
32

Are these bad because they litter the land with unexploded ordinance? Or is there another reason?

That’s my understanding. I recall reading that Ukraine has argued this isn’t much of an issue as the south and East of Ukraine are already littered with a huge amount of UXO and mines so it really doesn’t change the calculus in terms of cleanup.

Both Russia and Ukraine have been using Soviet-era cluster bombs. Ukraine has asked America to supply dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM), a class of cluster munition that could be fired from howitzers or from the himarsrocket launchers that Ukraine has been receiving for around a year. They have the added benefit of fewer duds so that risk to future civilian populations is reduced.

America won't give anything that can end the war quickly, they want it to last as long as possible.

not surprised, both side have been using cluster munitions for a while.

... cluster bombs suck. But when the land is already basically one gigantic minefield, whatever.

My apologies to the ghost of Princess Di, she was a nice lady. But this is a war.

It's the next generation of future amputees and casualties that'll bear the weight of these unexploded cluster munitions.

What about supplying food to the starving populations in Africa?

In Fiscal Year 2021, USAID and the U.S. Department of State provided $8.5 billion of assistance to 47 countries and 8 regional programs in sub-Saharan Africa.

Link

This has nothing to do with aiding underdeveloped African nations, this is about defending Ukrainian sovereignty.

Surprised to see selling weapons to Taliban terrorists isn't included in that list.

Good to see the whatabouters are here already.

What if I told you it’s possible to do multiple things at the same time? For example, you were probably breathing while you wrote out this brain dead take.

Are you telling me the US is working to solve world hunger?

Just the other day they voted in the UN saying food is not a human right!

Who's braindead now, Misses Lib?

The US is the largest provider of international food aid by an absurd margin.

Quick OpenAI query indicates the following.

Among the top 10 countries that have received the most food aid from the USA, 7 have large debts and all 10 are right-wing and all 10 have a history of suppressing left-wing politics.

"Aid"

"Sorry places that need more help because their governments are corrupt, we're going to help out the rising democracies that have fresh water and decent electricity instead, sorry!"

Aid is aid, you give food to the poor and ask for nothing else, that's what aid is.

Aid as in, I give you food and then you promise to kick any communists you see in the balls, that is not aid. That's just buying influence, it's America's Plan A against anything red. Plan B is coup and Plan C is bombs.

EDIT: Couldn't come up with a reply so he just downvoted and ran away!

Lmao there are at least 5 peaople that decided to downvote you befpre I even read your response.

Do you think the people that are actually able to make use of the aid America sends cares about the geopolitical ramifications of the aid they are receiving? Charity is always a stunt, be it for your personal moral gratitude or for politcal gain; I'm not sure the recipients of said aid are all too concerned about the reasons they get their anti-malarial drugs this week, or the effectiveness of the propaganda in being able to charge their laptops this week.

Turns out that we can walk and chew gum at the same time! Whooduh thunk?

Whataboutism” is a logical fallacy that presents a counter-accusation in lieu of the question being discussed. What you present here is a textbook definition. The topic is the US’s involvement in supplying Ukraine with a specific type of munition, and not the broader question of how the US allocates its money generally.

Okay, so how does your whataboutism explain how the US military budget is several times larger than what it takes to end world hunger?

They didn't make a whataboutism. You did.

Why isn't Russia sending as much food and health aid as America does to impoverished countries? Why does Russia get a pass in your head?

Russia doesn't get a pass on this matter, they're equally guilty but I'm hopeful after Putin's death the workers might rise to power again.