To: U.S. Congress
Block the Pentagon’s Purchase of Deadly Cluster Munitions
I urge you to take action to block the Department of Defense’s $210 million purchase of cluster munitions, which are widely banned and engineered to unleash indiscriminate violence and cause mass suffering.
Why is this important?
Disturbing reports have revealed a deal between the Pentagon and an Israeli government-owned weapons firm for $210 million in advanced cluster munitions.
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 walking home from 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.