Pamela, disturbing reports have revealed a deal between the Pentagon and an Israeli government-owned weapons firm for $210 million in advanced cluster munitions.[1]
They kept it quiet for a reason: Cluster bombs, banned by 123 nations, are infamously designed to unleash devastating, indiscriminate violence and mass suffering, even long after a war has ended. As many as 93% of their casualties are civilians, the vast majority children.
The victims include farmers working their land. Children playing soccer. Families celebrating a wedding.
This unique deal, where the U.S. government is buying, not selling, comes amidst evidence that the Israeli military recently used these widely-banned weapons in Lebanon. None of these reasons stopped the Pentagon from buying cluster bombs in one of its largest weapons purchases in decades. But you know what can? Congress.
Congress has the oversight power to stop this sale, and with enough people speaking out, we can block this dangerous deal before more lives are put at risk.
Tell Congress: Block the Pentagon's purchase of cluster munitions immediately.
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Cluster munitions scatter dozens — and sometimes hundreds — of small explosive bomblets across wide areas. They also have the highest failure rate among ALL classes of weapons, leaving behind hidden explosives that can kill for years, even decades later, haunting communities for generations.
The world has seen this horror before — across Vietnam, Laos, Iraq, and beyond — where unexploded cluster bomblets still maim civilians today. More than 24,800 people have been killed or injured by cluster munitions since the 1960s — and nearly three-quarters were harmed by leftover explosives, not active fighting.[1]
These weapons are so deadly and dangerous that 123 countries have signed on to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions. Neither the United States nor Israel is among them.
Instead of joining much of the rest of the world in condemning these indiscriminate weapons, the Pentagon would spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to purchase more.
The Pentagon shielded itself from scrutiny and accountability by awarding this contract without public competition under a "public interest" loophole. But we refuse to let this purchase stay in the shadows. Congress MUST block this purchase, and we can start the debate by sending a message to lawmakers that's too loud to ignore.
With Trump's sham "Board of Peace" set to meet this week to discuss the future of Gaza and while Israeli airstrikes continue to kill Palestinians, one thing remains crystal clear: The deadly flow of weapons between the United States and Israeli governments must stop.
Pamela, you may remember we spoke out in 2022 when the Biden administration sent cluster bombs to Ukraine.
The consequences then were as clear as they are now: More weapons that overwhelmingly kill innocent people. Normalizing indiscriminate violence. Investing in tools of long-term human suffering.
Let's push lawmakers to choose something different.
Thank you for working for peace,
The Win Without War team
- The Intercept, "Pentagon Makes Largest Known Arms Purchase From Israel — For Banned Cluster Weapons"
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