America’s Hypocritical Cluster Bomb Policies and Stockpiles

Indignation in one hand, millions of cluster bombs in the other

Cluster munition. (2022, October 14). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_munition

Since Russia’s ill-advised invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022, there has been a lot of attention paid to the use of cluster bombs or cluster munitions. Human rights groups have long criticized the bombs for their indiscriminate nature and a nasty habit of leaving behind thousands of unexploded bomblets. US media outlets have covered Russia’s use of cluster munitions as if Russia is somehow unique in using them. Some have even erroneously called cluster munitions illegal. They are not illegal.

There was a convention held in 2008 which called on nations to pledge never to use cluster munitions in any context. The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) has 110 ratified signatories. The United States, Ukraine, and Russia are not among them.

In fact, the cluster bomb has been one of the United State’s favorite weapons historically. They dropped hundreds of millions of cluster bombs on Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia during the Vietnam War. The United States and its allies were confirmed to have used cluster munitions during the Persian Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan, resulting in millions of bomblets being deployed. The US has also supplied or used cluster munitions in…