U.S. should abandon sale of cluster munitions

I am vehemently opposed to the U.S. supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine. They are a method of dispersing large numbers of tiny bomblets from a rocket, missile or artillery shell that scatters them in mid-flight over a wide area. Apparently, they do well in trench warfare.

They are intended to explode on impact but a significant proportion are "duds," meaning they don't explode initially. They can then explode at a later date on being picked up or trodden on, killing or maiming the victim. As a Vietnam veteran, I have read this happened to innocent children and adults years after the war. (They were then mines, but the same effect).

The use of cluster munitions has been criticized by human rights groups as the weapon is banned by more than 100 countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, which have signed an international treaty — the Convention on Cluster Munitions — that outlaws the use or stockpiling of these weapons due to their indiscriminate effect on civilian populations.

The U.S. providing these cluster munitions to Ukraine will put us at odds with many of our Western allies which is exactly what Russian President Putin would love. He would love to see our nation as not providing humanitarian support but as some sort of an outside aggressor. He would love to see a split of our country with our European friends, even over a minor munitions disagreement.

I want the rest of the world to see America as a compassionate supporter of freedom but not as being responsible for "collateral damage."

JAMES RICHARD JOHNSON

Clark Fork