WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th July, 2023) US Congressman Matt Gaetz said on Monday that he will act as the Republican co-sponsor for an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would ban the United States from transferring cluster munitions to Ukraine or any other country.
"Democrat Congresswoman Sarah Jacobs... introduced an amendment to the NDAA that reads, 'notwithstanding any other provision of law, no military assistance shall be furnished for cluster munitions,'" Gaetz said on an episode of his online show Firebrand. "I'm going to be the Republican co-sponsor of the Jacobs amendment before the House Rules Committee."
The amendment also restricts defense export licenses from being issued for cluster munitions and bans cluster munitions technology from being sold or transferred, Gaetz said.
Cluster munitions will not end the conflict in Ukraine, Gaetz said. Cluster bombs are features of the world's "bloodiest and most inhumane" wars, Gaetz added.
Children in Ukraine will be left without limbs and parents if Congress does not stop Biden's decision to transfer cluster munitions, he said.
Last week, Jacobs said she was "disappointed and alarmed" by the prospect of the US sending cluster munitions to Ukraine. Cluster munitions will prevent economic rebuilding and recovery efforts after the conflict, in addition to posing risks to civilians, Jacobs said.
The decision to send cluster munitions has also been met with criticism from several US allies, as well as Moscow. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova over the weekend said the provision of cluster munitions is intended to prolong the conflict in Ukraine.
