Biden’s decision to send banned weapons to Ukraine won’t change the war. But it’s starting to alienate progressives
By Medea Benjamin and Marcy Winograd, Salon
President Biden may have crossed a new red line for the Democratic Party when he announced he would send banned cluster munitions to shore up Ukraine’s slow counter-offensive against Russian troops.
Last week, 19 House Democrats, led by Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., signed a letter to Biden warning that his decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine “severely undermines our moral leadership.”
This time it’s not just left-leaning activists in CODEPINK and the Peace in Ukraine Coalition who recoil at Biden’s escalation in Ukraine, but congressional Democrats who previously stood by their president. These are the same Democrats who voted to approve more than $100 billion in Ukraine spending, approximately half of which went for weapons and military assistance with no accountability.
Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., ranking member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, told Politico, “The decision by the Biden administration to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine is unnecessary and a terrible mistake. …The legacy of cluster bombs is misery, death and expensive cleanup generations after their use.”
Recent Posts
Congress, Do Your Job and End This Illegal War of Aggression By The U.S. and Israel
Take Action Now Congress must assert its Constitutional authority over matters of war and peace against an out-of-control, rogue president and…
Daniel Ellsberg Speaks to Us as the War on Iran Continues
Take Action Now Ellsberg’s voice is back via a compelling new book. “Truth and Consequence,” being published this week, provides readers with his…
The Supreme Court Hears a Line 5 Oil Pipeline Case With High Stakes for Treaty Rights
Take Action Now The Straits of Mackinac aren’t just ecologically critical — they’re the center of the Anishinaabe creation story.By…
As Trump Bombs Iran, We Need to Reckon With the American War Machine
Take Action Now We cannot afford to slip into despair. We must push back against militarism everywhere, at every turn.By Negin Owliaei ,…