Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment with Congressman Gaetz to prohibit the transfer of cluster munitions. Most U.S. allies, including almost every NATO member, have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but not the United States. That is a grave mistake because these weapons maim and kill civilians indiscriminately and can be lethal indefinitely. It is reported that up to 40 percent of these weapons don't explode on impact. If they don't explode, they become literal ticking time bombs, scattering tiny bomblets that are more like landmines. Even if the dud rate is far lower than 40 percent, the risk to civilians, to children, to our moral authority is too great. In 2021, the Landmine and Cluster Munitions Monitor found that over 97 percent of casualties from cluster bomb remnants were civilians, and two-thirds of those were children. That is because these deadly weapons don't look dangerous. In fact, they look interesting to kids. They look like toys. When kids find these weapons in trees, in water, or on the ground, they often try to pick them up and can end up losing a limb or their life. No amount of guardrails for cluster munitions is enough. No amount of so-called tactical advantage is enough. It isn't enough to say the other side is doing it, so we might as well, too. It is not worth it when civilian lives are at stake. It is not worth it when our reputation is at stake.…”