this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023
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pretty much everyone says they're going to use these for good reasons that will not harm civilians and have purely military consequences―it never works out that way, and seldom is restricted to those uses once rubber hits the road. i'm not sure why we're assuming that this will be any different other than that the actor is sympathetic and we'd like to (incorrectly) assume their judgement is unimpeachable and infallible.
The people who should weigh the risks to Ukrainian civilians are Ukrainians themselves.
Minefields pose the same sort of risk to civilians, but I think it would be inappropriate to insist the Ukrainians can't use mines to defend themselves.
mmm, no, i don't think you can say this absolutely. if Pakistan is invaded by India tomorrow and they say they're going to nuke Delhi in response i'm still going to be against that even though i'm not directly affected and they'd be in the right to do that, legally, politically, and militarily speaking. wars are not fought in a vacuum. additionally, what can be justified on the aforementioned three grounds does not inherently map to what is morally justified, and in this case i think there are obvious alternatives which can be taken that are much less morally dubious.
That's not really the same thing.
If Ukrainians use cluster munitions, they are putting Ukrainian civilians at risk not Russian civilians. They are free to accept that risk for themselves. Particularly because Russian troops also pose significant risks to Ukrainian civilians.
I would oppose Ukrainian use of cluster munitions in Russia, for the same reason I would oppose use of Pakistani nuclear weapons in India.
if you change the hypothetical to "Delhi rebels tomorrow against BJP rule and Narendra Modi says he's going to nuke Delhi in response" i don't think the arithmetic changes just because now the people are from the same country and that country is "free to accept that risk for itself" of what such an action will do. the usage is bad full stop; the consequences are avoidable through not using them; there are less morally dubious alternatives available which will have the same net outcome. these are valid arguments with or without borders being considered.
And if you change it to "Delhi rebels threaten to detonate nuke in Delhi, Modi responds by dropping cluster munitions on rebels" then it's not so clear any more.
Ukrainian civilians are at risk no matter what happens. The ones who are ultimately responsible for deciding the fate of Ukrainians are Ukrainians themselves.
You may think you see a better option, but they don't have to agree with you.
nobody is saying they do; they will do as they will. but what they do isn't correct; it isn't correct because they do it and are the good guys; and people can be correct to oppose them for doing bad things―which i think this is―because doing a bad thing isn't mutually exclusive of being on the good side.
In this situation don't think it makes sense to oppose cluster munitions simply on principle.
I think it would be correct to oppose them only if using cluster bombs would cause more harm to Ukrainian civilians than the alternatives. I assume Ukrainian leaders would use similar criteria.
And since Ukrainians are actually at the front lines, they are the best informed and will suffer the most from an error of judgment. Under those circumstances, I am comfortable with trusting them to make the best decision either way.
It’s like everyone forgot about post vietnam stories where kids were getting blown to bits just running around being kids.
The other talking point seems to be the failure rates of the cluster munitions, but left by the wayside is the fact that they can dismantle them and use the charge within to detonate mines.