Something for Obama's legacy-efforts spanning the world to more aggressively remove unexploded bombs

[karynnj]

In the last month, there have been articles that have spoken of new major commitments to removed the unexploded bombs in many areas where, long after wars, there are still deaths and dreadful injuries from the bombs left behind. This is clearly an Obama led initiative. The links where I read of these efforts concern Kerry, who is one of the people who is leading on this, which is partly a function of what I read. My view of this in Southeast Asia is that it is the US working to deal with a problem of our making.

Here are some of the articles from this last month, speaking of this commitment:

Laos and other areas affected by the Vietnam War:

Laos is the most bombed country in history, posing a poignant challenge for Kerry, who served in the Vietnam War, then returned home to become one of its leading protesters and launch his political career.

“We thought we were a moral country, yes, but we are now engaged in the most rampant bombing in the history of mankind,” Kerry said on “The Dick Cavett Show” in 1971, long before the scope of the so-called secret war in Laos was publicly known.

Kerry played a big role in normalizing relations with Vietnam as a US senator from Massachusetts. As America’s top diplomat, he now emphasizes bomb cleanup efforts as he builds ties in the region.


Honoring the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year, Kerry said the United States continues to “make real our pledge to help clear Laos of unexploded ordnance.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2016/01/22/john-kerry-discuss-unexploded-bombs-trip-laos/kz3Irm3OlwhgZOOUHifpeN/story.html

(The same commitment was made to Cambodia and to increase the help to Vietnam

Iraq/Syria:

(from the public comments of Kerry at the meeting in Rome on ISIS)

Beyond our financial support, we have another challenge. We have to help the Government of Iraq remove the thousands of lethal explosives that are left behind by the terrorists. What happens is when Daesh leaves almost every house they put a booby trap hoping that when the family comes back or somebody opens a door or walks in they’re blown up. So war continues in that sense. We, many of the countries around this table, have particular expertise in ordnance removal and we need to do this.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/02/251992.htm

It should be noted that this effort is a goal of the entire American led effort and many countries are involved in the effort -

But beyond that, we also had a request for medical supplies, for ammunition, for intelligence. There are logistics that need to be served in this process. And I think a number of – demining is a critical one. Norway made a significant commitment to the increase of demining activities. The unexploded ordnance – we need to have $15 millions just for Ramadi alone in order to undo the booby-trapping that’s been done to homes there. So that – I am confident that in the next couple days, that request is going to be filled.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/02/252065.htm

Columbia:

Again, working with Norway, the US is committed to getting rid of mines.

As part of the nascent Peace Colombia, the U.S. will team up with Norway on a demining effort aimed at ridding Colombia of land mines within five years.
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/ap/ap_nation/peace-deal-in-reach-obama-says-us-to-help-colombia/article_eea4692b-9ee4-598b-9dec-de7585c7d610.html

This is obviously not the first time that the US has worked on this, but to me, reading of US diplomacy, I have never seen this raised in so many places, at this high a level ... and many of the SE Asia stories suggest President Obama himself will speak of this at a major conference in CA on February 15 through 16.

[grasswire]

1. Hillary voted against the ban on cluster bombs.

for the record.

[karynnj]

2. True, while I think all the Dem Senate veterans voted against them

including Akaka, Kennedy, Harkin, Reed and Kerry.

I think everyone would applaud the effort that Obama is leading the effort on - including Hillary Clinton. I would imagine that dealing with the many environmental disasters that the Vietnam war caused in that area is more important to gaining goodwill than the much ballyhooed "pivot to Asia" which seemed to be mostly TPP and speaking aggressively against China.

[1939]

3. They are still uncovering artillery shells from World War I in France and Belgium