U.S. Government Faces Pressure to Abandon Cluster Bomb Arms Deal
In a letter shared exclusively with Responsible Statecraft, a US-based foreign policy magazine, the coalition warned that cluster munitions "disperse submunitions across broad areas, making it exceedingly difficult to confine their impact to lawful military targets." By moving to expand its stockpile, the signatories argued, Washington is placing itself "dramatically out of step with civilian protection practices."
Ursala Knudsen-Latta of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, one of the letter's signatories, did not mince words in her assessment of the weapons' long-term consequences. "These weapons' humanitarian impacts vastly outweigh any possible tactical benefit that they provide," she said, adding: "Unfortunately, it is really sowing seeds of terror for generations to come anywhere they are used."
The deal was first reported earlier this month by The Intercept and represents a troubling inflection point in the gradual erosion of what was once a robust international consensus against cluster munitions. Years of sustained advocacy, underpinned by research documenting the lasting hazards of unexploded bomblets scattered across post-conflict landscapes, culminated in a landmark international treaty banning the weapons in 2010.
The US military halted its own battlefield use of cluster munitions in 2009, and domestic manufacturers have since ceased production entirely. Yet Washington never joined the treaty nor moved to dismantle its existing arsenal — a decision that would later carry significant geopolitical weight.
When Russia's invasion of Ukraine involved the deployment of cluster munitions, the Biden administration opted to supply Kyiv with the same weapons, asserting they would be "useful especially against dug-in Russian positions." The transfer appeared to conflict with a domestic legal provision barring the handover of munitions with a "dud rate" exceeding 1%. Despite the legal ambiguity, Congress declined to intervene, and Ukraine began fielding the weapons in 2023.
The episode has since had a ripple effect. Lithuania withdrew from the international anti-cluster munitions treaty in 2025, and other allies have signaled growing interest in the weapons. Knudsen-Latta warned directly of this trend: "We're deeply concerned that the US continuing to participate in the use of these weapons will only encourage more allies to do the same."
Signatories to the coalition letter include Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, the United Methodist Church, the Arms Control Association, the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), the Center for International Policy, and the Quincy Institute, which publishes Responsible Statecraft.
Ramming Chappell, another voice among the coalition, expressed cautious hope that lawmakers may yet step in to restrain the Pentagon's expanding reliance on the munitions. The precedent from 2023 is notable — a bipartisan bloc of 178 House members voted against the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine, and several of those same legislators may raise pointed objections to the current acquisition.
"I would expect that we'd see potential questions from Congress about why the United States is moving forward with this transfer and what it intends to do with the cluster munitions it's purchasing," Ramming Chappell said.
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