Fans of Cluster Bombs Dominate WaPo’s Opinion Section
Fans of Cluster Bombs Dominate WaPo’s Opinion Section
As the US escalates the already bloody Ukraine conflict, the Washington Post's opinion pages cheerlead for the military/industrial complex.
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Cluster bombs are highly effective at what they're using them for. And the alternative is mines. Neither is exactly civilian friendly, but at least this way the failure rates are lower and the bombs you're leaving behind are actually being targeted at something instead of buried and forgotten.
Neither is exactly civilian friendly, but at least this way the failure rates are lower and the bombs you’re leaving behind are actually being targeted at something instead of buried and forgotten.
i just question the accuracy of either of these assertions (failure rates of up to 30% are well publicized, and Russian cluster munitions in Ukraine have had an even higher rate than that)—and even if you accept they're being targeted at something, how useful is that actually as a justification when the whole point of cluster munitions is sheer number and not accuracy?
Easy. A single artillery shell will likely miss, meaning you need to use more of them. Cluster munitions hit a wide area, and therefore you need to use less of them. It's like using a shotgun vs a rifle. I'd highly recommend this video for more information.
Cluster munitions hit a wide area, and therefore you need to use less of them.
i don't see what this really has to do with my point—and i'd also question that the history of cluster munitions shows restraint in their usage on the specific bases that they have a better theoretical spread of fire and efficiency than normal shelling. in general, when they're used they're used to excess and without much regard for what you're talking about here because that's just kind of what happens when you give people a new weapon. that's part of why they're so devastating to civilian populations even well after wars have ended
The big difference here is Ukraine is bombing their own territory. Ukraine is not going to use these indiscriminately, they're not going to target civilian areas (like Russia already has). They have an invested interest in using them carefully and cleaning up the mess ASAP as soon as the war is over.
They have an invested interest in using them carefully and cleaning up the mess ASAP as soon as the war is over.
you're free to take their word for this but every state fighting a war says that they're going to use weapons responsibly. how many of them actually do so, or don't commit war crimes in doing so? the US military, literally the most well funded and powerful combat force in the world (and a force which has not fought for its survival in a long time), still routinely kills civilians in circumstances where that's avoidable. the idea that Ukraine will be "careful" in its usage of cluster bombs and not misuse them is hopium at best—particularly given the circumstances it's in. and even if they want to be, again, the point of a cluster bomb is that it's not a careful munition!
i also don't think "the bad guys are doing this" is justification for also doing a bad thing that is widely recognized as a crime.
Ukraine has thought about this. They are bombing there own territory. They know this will leave unexploded ordinance. The know the more they use them, the more risk it is to their own citizens. They know if they use them in civilian centers they risk killing their own citizens. They're not stupid, please don’t pretend like they are.
i also don’t think “the bad guys are doing this” is justification for also doing a bad thing that is widely recognized as a crime.
They’re fighting for survival, that’s plenty justification. They were invaded, Russia kidnapped their children and disappeared them. War sucks, people, including civilians, die. The longer this war goes on, the more people will die. The longer this war goes on, the more unexploded ordinance, conventional or cluster, will be left.
I’m sorry I just don’t understand your perspective. It seems like you believe that Ukraine would use these without caution within their borders because other aggressor nations have used them without cation outside their borders. That they will not put any effort into cleanup of their borders at the end of the war because other aggressor nations didn’t cleanup outside their borders at the end of a war.
It seems like you think they’re going to bomb their own cities and just leave them to be stumbled upon later. There will be a massive cleanup effort after the war is done, it will go on for years, or likely decades. Cluster munitions will help end the war sooner, that’s just an objective fact. Yeah, they suck, so do conventional bombs, so do mines, so does war in general.
Ukraine has thought about this. They are bombing there own territory. They know this will leave unexploded ordinance. The know the more they use them, the more risk it is to their own citizens. They know if they use them in civilian centers they risk killing their own citizens. They’re not stupid, please don’t pretend like they are.
Ukraine's judgement isn't infallible or above criticism and it is possible for them to be wrong. the idea that the whole country is being infantilized or called stupid in being told not to commit war crimes or use what are widely recognized as criminal munitions is just silly.
They’re fighting for survival, that’s plenty justification. They were invaded, Russia kidnapped their children and disappeared them. War sucks, people, including civilians, die. The longer this war goes on, the more people will die. The longer this war goes on, the more unexploded ordinance, conventional or cluster, will be left.
this is an argument for unrestricted war crimes—because those would make the war end quicker—and i hope you understand that. "survival" does not mean "a get out of jail free card to do whatever you want, even if it's against international law or widely seen as illegal."
this is sort of what i mean here, by the way. you are the sort of person who is going to, if Ukraine starts executing Russian soldiers or taking retributive action against citizens of Ukraine who support Russia for whatever reason, be the first in line to defend that on these frankly horrifying grounds.
this is sort of what i mean here, by the way. you are the sort of person who is going to, if Ukraine starts executing Russian soldiers or taking retributive action against citizens of Ukraine who support Russia for whatever reason, be the first in line to defend that on these frankly horrifying grounds.
How dare you say I would find that acceptable.
That is not acceptable conduct for a moderator.
How dare you say I would find that acceptable.
your argument necessitates finding conduct like that acceptable if it occurs, whether you believe that or not. you already think it's acceptable to use bombs that are widely regarded as unlawful and criminal and which disproportionately kill civilians because the threat is existential—how is it suddenly beyond the pale in such circumstances under your premises to execute Russian soldiers (the people literally fighting to end Ukraine's existence)? and mind you, i'm also not the one who just said "War sucks, people, including civilians, die." in response to someone objecting to the use of cluster munitions on the very basis that they will kill innocent people. if you're not understanding why someone would say you're passively or actively fine with Ukraine killing non-combatants, i'm not entirely sure what to say.
your argument necessitates finding conduct like that acceptable if it occurs
It really does not and you've completely misrepresented that poster's argument. You can try to make the argument that their claim and executing POWs can be linked, but I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Support your opinion, or try to make a logical connection, if you like. At the moment, you're just putting words in someone else's mouth.
I think Ukraine, specifically, has a huge incentive to show as much restraint in their use as possible here. If you have evidence that defending militaries using cluster munitions typically fail to do so, then I'd be interested to see that.
If you have evidence that defending militaries using cluster munitions typically fail to do so, then I’d be interested to see that.
ironically the best recent example of this is Ukraine (most sovereign states being invaded at this stage of history don't have or aren't known to have cluster munitions)—it is exceedingly likely that in the past 9 years Ukraine has used them without much restraint. Georgia also admitted to using them pretty freely when they were being invaded by Russia in 2008.
Fortunately, the article states that the munitions have a dud rate of 2.35%, rather than 30%.
that is a claim by the Pentagon, which is so categorically untrustworthy on matters such as these that it really is not worth taking seriously. their actually-backed-by-data estimate on the same munitions is a 14% dud rate (and there are reasons to believe the rate is higher than that) and that quite literally follows the section you are excerpting from.
The editorial board cites the fact that the cluster munitions being sent by the US have a “very low dud rate,” and will therefore pose less of a risk to civilians. The Pentagon claims that the munitions it is sending have a dud rate of 2.35%; even if that’s accurate, it exceeds the 1% limit the Pentagon itself considers acceptable.
According to the New York Times’ John Ismay (7/7/23), a failure rate of 2.35% “would mean that for every two shells fired, about three unexploded grenades would be left scattered on the target area.” There is reason to believe that the true dud rate may be much higher—possibly exceeding 14%, by the Pentagon’s own reckoning.