When the West use cluster bombs it’s for democracy and freedom!
US to give Ukraine cluster bombs, defends controversial decision
The Biden administration will provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, vowing the US will not leave Ukraine defenceless and asserting that Kyiv has promised to use the controversial bombs carefully.
The immorality of what we in the West have just agreed to here, to allow cluster bombs to be used in conflict so as to maintain the political support for Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s illegal war is ugly, nasty and cheap.
Rather than supply Ukraine with the real weapon muscle to finish the job, we are agreeing to the cheapest most insidious model because US Taxpayer’s matter more than one legged Ukrainians.
When you are forced to use immoral tactics to win, can you ever win?
The hypocrisy of the West sanctioning this means we have no moral high ground in this conflict any longer.
It is clear America will fight Russia until the last Ukrainian. Is this really about protecting the Ukraine now or destabilising Russia?
The only clear winner is the Military Industrial Complex and American Hawks.
Chippy’s recent speech on NZs foreign affairs was a rare moment of recognition there are other things beyond these shores.
We face geopolitical shockwaves unlike any before them.
Climate change, pandemics, refugees, war – they are all coming here.
Our distance is no longer a tyranny, it’s a blessing.
An Independent Foreign Policy is not enough to protect us from the shocks coming.
If we are serious about an Independent Foreign Policy, we have to accept Neutrality is going to cost us a lot more.
The Māori Party suggestion of neutrality is worth considering.
I believe that the climate crisis means we need a vastly larger military to cope with civil disasters and if we are attempting to distance ourselves from China and America, we need to make a decision to dramatically lift what we spend on the military for purely defensive and civil disaster capacity.
How would we go about defending the realm of NZ and all our economic exclusive zone?
We can’t pull away from America and China and pretend there is no cost to being Independent.
We need to increase Military GDP spending to 5%. Interestingly Labour have quietly ratcheted GDP military spending from just over 1% to just under 2%.
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“But one thing we did learn [from the Persian Gulf War] is that we can use our military in the region… and the Soviets won’t stop us. And we’ve got about 5 or 10 years to clean up those old [pro] Soviet regimes — Syria, Iran, Iraq [etc.] — before the next great superpower comes on to challenge us.”
— Paul Wolfowitz, fmr. Deputy Secretary of Defense, in 1991
“America is now the only global superpower, and Eurasia is the globe’s central arena… it is imperative that no Eurasian challenger emerges, capable of dominating Eurasia and thus of challenging America…
A power that dominated Eurasia would exercise decisive influence over two of the world’s three most economically productive regions, Western Europe and East Asia. A glance at the map also suggests that a country dominant in Eurasia would almost automatically control the Middle East and Africa…
Ukraine, a new and important space on the Eurasian chessboard, is a geopolitical pivot because its very existence as an independent country helps to transform Russia. Without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be a Eurasian empire… Russia’s first priority should be to [break up their country into] European Russia, a Siberian Republic, and a Far Eastern Republic… rather than to engage in a futile effort to regain its status as a global power…
What happens with the distribution of power on the Eurasian landmass will be of decisive importance to America’s global primacy… no state is likely to match the United States in the four key dimensions of power… preventing the emergence of a hostile coalition that could challenge America’s primacy…”
— Zbigniew Brzezinski, 9th U.S. National Security Advisor, in 1997.
Nice read.
RE, you mean copy and paste
Far superior though and informative than the drivel posted by some commentators.
Brzezinski, was right to some extent but this was already figured out by the greedy British before they succumbed to hegemony fatigue like what the US is experiencing and eventually will become.
The Chinese have already built the BRI in the M.E and Asia to combat US and its allies in the pacific rim. Japan, and US have been fortifying their allies in the pacific to ratchet up tensions against china making bold claims about Taiwan when US secretary Blinkin in the same stroke reaffirmed its commitment to the One China Policy speaking in double tongues. BRICS is the nail in the coffin for the US and its Oligarchs exorbitant privileges and in the end the US will have no option but to join because the main commodities like Oil, gas, minerals would eventually be sold in the BRICS currencies whateva that looks like culminating in the death of the petrodollar.
Nobody has ever un-invented a weapon. If there is a tactical advantage in its use, ultimately it will be used. The Russians have already used banned white phosphorus in this war, so as far as I’m concerned, if cluster munitions helps Ukraine, then fine.
The thing I like about skirmish forces going ahead of the main army is you use it to stop an enemy from forming up but that’s not what happened in Ukraine. After apparently getting thier ass kicked, for the last three years Russia has been able to create defence in depth. Seven Hundred Thousand Russian Military Personal and a media who forgets how effective the Russians were in Syria. Long Range Russian missiles and artillery are very effective let’s not get it fucked up here who actually has tactical superiority.
After 2, 3 years Ukrainian Tactics are carput. In 3 to seven years we lose strategic superiority. There is nothing decisive about this war. Still can’t invade Russia with Russian Infantry and Artillery on its border. What a bunch of rank fucking amateurs playing at fucking war. Only people we have that could end this war is Tulsi, Robert F Kennedy. And God help us Trump vs a bunch of western uni grades who have lived far to good to be bad.
Awesome Article Martyn, well done, using Cluster bombs is a disgraceful War crime, a abomination & no amount of US whitewashing can justify their usage? Biden let the Cat out of the bag, the US & NATO has run out of 155mm artillery shells to supply Ukraine with, this is a act of desperation because it won’t alter the outcome of this conflict which Russia is winning, Ukraine is badly losing, their so called Counteroffensive has been a horrendous failure & the defeat of Ukraine is inevitable, this conflict will conclude by December with Ukraine’s unconditional surrender & just like in Afghanistan, the US & NATO’s inept attempts to destroy Russia has had the opposite effect in making Russia stronger! America will suffer another humiliating defeat due to its arrogance & hubris by using Ukraine as a canon fodder Proxy just like they used the Afghani Army! Biden has accelerated America’s demise as a Unipolar Superpower forever & that’s a good thing!
So Russian use of cluster bombs is what? Surely a war crime also. Russian failure in Afghanistan was what? You are remarkably consistent at being inconsistent.
Democracy and freedom always has costs, and there are no rules except you must win.
Do the Russians now have cause to enter Ukraine since now the Ukraine has Weapons of Mass Destruction?
And these are real ones not like the ones they made up that were in Iraq.
My first trip to Cambodia was more than 20 years ago. When I got there I was warned to not wander off into the jungle or into tall grass and even if one’s to stick to well worn paths, one might be the heaviest guy that’s been along that path since 1969. There are a lot of one legged Cambodian farmers and their kids there thanks to the U$A’s B52’s carpet bombing the place with cluster munitions. In the interests of freedum of course.
Cambodia is a wondrous place entirely poisoned by the psychopathic capitalist U$A military industrial monster specifically, and capitalism generally, and now they’re going after Russia, and you never, ever, fuck with Russia.
This is a compelling film.
‘Mr Jones’
Directed by Agnieszka Holland. Written by Andrea Chalupa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr_Jones_(2019_film)
“Newly inaugurated President Richard Nixon authorized for the first time use of long-range Boeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers to carpet bomb Cambodia.[1]”
‘Operation Menu’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Menu
How long will it be before NZ joins NATO & the EU?
Jeez that a long way from us!! China closer by a few thousand miles
Ukraine used cluster bombs on it’s own citizens starting 2014. Now these people have voted to join Russia and live in peace.
sure sign of us panic at putins failure(despite frequent TDB predictions) to fall
The concept of war crime and the limitations on war always perplex me.
War is an ugly business and trying to put a civilized face on it is simply absurd.
Why would or indeed should Ukrainians limit what they are willing to do to protect their home?
If heads on pikes or even cannibalism is likely to deter the Russians then have at it as far as I’m concerned.
That is similar to what some German leader said a while ago about having no limitations. Can’t remember his name, but he had a funny moustache.
Oh yes, you are just sooo virtuous! Let me swoon over your greatness.
That is until it’s you facing an existential crisis, in which case you will either do the dirty work or given how pathetic you are , beg for others to do it for you.
I bet you were one of the many pathetic wowsers who were happy to suppress everyone else’s basic human rights so you could feel safer from what amounted to a nasty flu.
If so, you have no ethics and should shut the fuck up.
Swoon away, sonny.
Did someone mention ethics ?
Zelensky and NATO have none of those pesky things ….. Agent Zelensky – Part 1 https://youtu.be/HLeBb6hPUC8
jays has posted enthusiastically about eugenics and forced sterilizations on more than a few occasions. all done from the safety of his mums basement. ignore him, he is just a lonely little incel.
The Ukrainians are only cannon fodder in much bigger games. The US/UK and Western European crocodile tears for the dead and wounded Ukrainians are a farce. The more dead wounded and hatred created the better they approve of the war. It’s about smashing European Russian and Chinese economic cooperation. The western psychopaths must be very pleased with their work so far.
I suspect they are.
Honestly, assuming they DID engineer this war, they really couldn’t have dreamed of such an outcome.
Spot on and the linking of Indo-Pacific to NATO is very calculated. The tragedy in Ukraine is the lack of appetite for a ceasefire and negotiation that is coming entirely from the US and NATO even despite what Ukraine wants. By the US making complete Russian withdrawal the pre-condition for any ceasefire what they are really saying is they do want to war to continue and don’t care about Ukrainian lives. The way ceasefires work is that everyone stops where they are now and tries to negotiate a permanent end to the war. It might not work out, but it is always worth trying. As Putin showed to the Sth African delegation a couple of weeks ago, an agreement had been struck back in March last year between the Ukrainians and Russians but that clown Boris Johnson was sent over to tell Zelensky that the West would not accept it. That proved that Ukraine has no independent power and that this is proxy war.
For sure Putin doesn’t want to talk to Zelensky he wants to talk to Biden funny that
Considering the Russians are willing to cause massive environmental destruction by blowing up dams, or threaten to blow up nuclear power stations. That and threats every other week of the use of nuclear weapons, they, or any other party don’t have any validation to protest over the use of cluster weapons. Particularly when it is only to extract the invaders of your own sovereign country.
Bruce the goose, Russia has never threatened to blow up a nuclear power station ,,,,, but Ukraine has been shelling one under Russian control for ages now…… you know, the same one THEY are claiming the Russians are going to blow up.
Coincidentally Ukraine military also conducted shelling and missile attacks on the dam you claim the Russians blew up,,, and they dumped water from upstream reservoirs increasing the flooding damage when it did collapse.
How does goose logic account for this ????
Is the use of land mines banned as well? There seem to be a lot of them in front of Russian defense lines.
And incendiary bombs were used to burn out the last defenders in Bakhmut. I’m pretty sure that incendary weapon use is banned.
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but it is a hard-fought war without quarter.
mum mum he did it first….isn’t an argument ada
Not making that argument, gagarin.
But pretending that it’s a war between gentlemen is just pointless handwringing by people far, far away from the combat who face no risk.
Oh Ada and your far-right trash can comments belongs in the bin as usual.
Apologies Stephen, for not being one of the ‘Special People’ you insist have the only right to speak.
oh don’t worry Ada, you are so very, very special….
Ukrainian children will pay the price, you armchair generals are safe.
You are so vocal and smart about wars because you have never experienced any.
What does it say about the Left when an ‘elder’ call for an insane level increase in military spending. Makes you wonder, huh, why the Left is what it is today….
There’s no evidence that Russia has used cluster bombs against the Zelensky regime, given the lies of that perfidious dictator. I hope that one of the brothers of the little Russian and Ukranian kids that the Zelensky regime will use these weapons against delivers personal justice to Netanyahu, Victoria Nuland, Joe Biden and so on and so on down the chain of command.
It always amazes me how the Russians love to attack themselves. Nordstream gas pipelines, shell themselves while protecting a nuclear power plant, blow up a dam that supplies water to 6 nuclear power stations and the whole area of Crimea.
I guess the total destruction on Moscow must be on the cards. President Putin will likely light the fuse himself.
What amazes me is how many in this country and elsewhere actually believe this, it shows a total lack of free thinking, as you say. There is a legal principle (in Latin, of course) called cui bono – asking who benefits from the offence. And the answer is USA all the way.
Hey Chippy, I know you don’t speak for me on foreign policy or security, but when you get to your jamboree can you take Germany aside, sit them down and explain to them like a little child that they had their chance in the 1930s: they almost destroyed humanity with their bullshit. So Germany sending weapons and support to Ukraine now, or having anything to do with war around the world, is completely unacceptable. Forever.
It’s Ukrainian civilians at risk of the unexplored ordnance in this case and they want the munitions, is it better to let their women and children die to Russian missile strikes kamikaze drones, cluster munitions and white phosphorus instead?
Do Ukrainians not get to choose?
It’s not like they are going to be used beyond their own borders, what’s the big deal?
Certainly a good debate in reference to survival for Ukraine. To be fair even before cluster bombs killing at the start by any means in war is the issue. Tit for Tat in armaments maybe an unavoidable issue in war? Having rules in war can’t be comprehended by who is not involved? Looking from the outside it seems obvious but is it really?
Apologies Stephen, for not being one of the ‘Special People’ you insist have the only right to speak.