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http://online.wsj.com/articles/obama-administration-sets-course-to-sign-land-mine-ban-1403870731
Wall Street Journal - Felicia Schwartz - Updated June 27, 2014
In New Land Mine Policy, U.S. Takes Step Toward Treaty Approval
U.S. Wouldn't Produce Antipersonnel Land Mines or Acquire New Ones
Signaling its strongest move yet toward joining a 15-year-old international treaty banning land mines, the Obama administration announced Friday that the U.S. would no longer produce antipersonnel land mines or acquire new ones, including to replace expiring munitions in its stockpile.
In addition, the administration said it was "diligently pursuing" other policies that would allow the U.S. to agree to the land mine treaty, known as Ottawa Convention. The Clinton and George W. Bush administrations didn't join the treaty, citing security concerns.
A U.S. delegation to a conference on the land mine treaty in Mozambique announced the policy change Friday morning.
Land mine policy has long been an emotional point of debate. Treaty advocates say the U.S. should abandon a weapon that can kill civilians long after conflicts are over. Opponents point to land mines as an effective tool and a deterrent that could help prevent a North Korean invasion of South Korea.
More than 160 nations have signed the Ottawa treaty since 1997. China, Russia and the U.S. remain high-profile holdouts. A decision by the White House to sign would have to be ratified by the Senate.
In March, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey told the House Armed Services Committee that he considered antipersonnel land mines "an important tool," citing their use in protecting South Korea.
But at the same time, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, along with other senior civilian and military leaders at the Pentagon, support the policy not to make or buy any more of the mines, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, on Friday.
Gen. Dempsey's office said in a statement Friday that he still considers land mines "a valuable tool in the arsenal of the United States," but supported the new policy shift.
"The chairman believes this decision on anti-personnel land mines, given our current stockpiles, protects current capabilities while we work towards a reliable and effective substitute," the statement said.
The U.S. military has about three million antipersonnel mines in its inventory, said Adm. Kirby, and its ability to use them will degrade over time. The mines' utility will decline in about 10 years and they will be completely unusable in 20 years, he said.
There are land mines in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, but the U.S. has turned those fields over to South Korea.
Since the mine ban treaty entered into force in 1999, the State Department said it was aware of only one confirmed "operational employment" of an antipersonnel land mine by U.S. military forces -- "a single munition in Afghanistan in 2002," said spokeswomen Marie Harf.
The White House stressed that changes to U.S. land mine policy didn't indicate a shift in the U.S. relationship with South Korea.
An alternative to land mines along the border requires additional study, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. The announcement Friday, though, represents a "notable adjustment" of policy and signals the U.S. wants to accede to the Ottawa Convention, Mr. Earnest said.
Adm. Kirby said that the Pentagon is part of a broader effort to look at the risks posed to the U.S. in eliminating its supply of land mines. He didn't provide any details on how long the process would take.
Supporters of the treaty greeted Friday's announcement with a mixture of approval and caution.
The announcement "is a step in the right direction, but falls short of what was really needed," said Steve Goose, director of Human Rights Watch's arms division and chairman of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
"What we're calling on the Obama administration to do is definitively commit to accepting the treaty, commit to no use of antipersonnel land mines until they have been able to accede, and more importantly start the destruction of the antipersonnel land mines stockpiled."
Republican lawmakers said the policy could threaten South Korea.
"They have ignored the advice of our military leadership and gone against the bipartisan judgment of preceding administrations," Rep. Randy Forbes (R., Va.) said in a statement.
Since the Bush administration, U.S. officials have said they would eliminate persistent land mines, which can remain active for years after a conflict, and develop self-destructing or self-deactivating land mines.
Among other steps, the U.S. also previously committed to seeking a world-wide ban on the sale or export of all persistent land mines.
The Obama administration initially said it would continue with the Bush administration's policy and not join the treaty because the land mines were needed to meet U.S. security commitments.
In 2011, the administration changed course, and committed to reviewing the policy and considering how joining the treaty would impact military operations.
Although the U.S. hasn't yet committed to signing the treaty, it is the world's largest financial supporter of efforts at land mine removal and medical support for land mine victims.
— Jeffrey Sparshott and Dion Nissenbaum contributed to this article.
Wall Street Journal - Felicia Schwartz - Updated June 27, 2014
In New Land Mine Policy, U.S. Takes Step Toward Treaty Approval
U.S. Wouldn't Produce Antipersonnel Land Mines or Acquire New Ones
Signaling its strongest move yet toward joining a 15-year-old international treaty banning land mines, the Obama administration announced Friday that the U.S. would no longer produce antipersonnel land mines or acquire new ones, including to replace expiring munitions in its stockpile.
In addition, the administration said it was "diligently pursuing" other policies that would allow the U.S. to agree to the land mine treaty, known as Ottawa Convention. The Clinton and George W. Bush administrations didn't join the treaty, citing security concerns.
A U.S. delegation to a conference on the land mine treaty in Mozambique announced the policy change Friday morning.
Land mine policy has long been an emotional point of debate. Treaty advocates say the U.S. should abandon a weapon that can kill civilians long after conflicts are over. Opponents point to land mines as an effective tool and a deterrent that could help prevent a North Korean invasion of South Korea.
More than 160 nations have signed the Ottawa treaty since 1997. China, Russia and the U.S. remain high-profile holdouts. A decision by the White House to sign would have to be ratified by the Senate.
In March, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey told the House Armed Services Committee that he considered antipersonnel land mines "an important tool," citing their use in protecting South Korea.
But at the same time, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, along with other senior civilian and military leaders at the Pentagon, support the policy not to make or buy any more of the mines, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, on Friday.
Gen. Dempsey's office said in a statement Friday that he still considers land mines "a valuable tool in the arsenal of the United States," but supported the new policy shift.
"The chairman believes this decision on anti-personnel land mines, given our current stockpiles, protects current capabilities while we work towards a reliable and effective substitute," the statement said.
The U.S. military has about three million antipersonnel mines in its inventory, said Adm. Kirby, and its ability to use them will degrade over time. The mines' utility will decline in about 10 years and they will be completely unusable in 20 years, he said.
There are land mines in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, but the U.S. has turned those fields over to South Korea.
Since the mine ban treaty entered into force in 1999, the State Department said it was aware of only one confirmed "operational employment" of an antipersonnel land mine by U.S. military forces -- "a single munition in Afghanistan in 2002," said spokeswomen Marie Harf.
The White House stressed that changes to U.S. land mine policy didn't indicate a shift in the U.S. relationship with South Korea.
An alternative to land mines along the border requires additional study, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. The announcement Friday, though, represents a "notable adjustment" of policy and signals the U.S. wants to accede to the Ottawa Convention, Mr. Earnest said.
Adm. Kirby said that the Pentagon is part of a broader effort to look at the risks posed to the U.S. in eliminating its supply of land mines. He didn't provide any details on how long the process would take.
Supporters of the treaty greeted Friday's announcement with a mixture of approval and caution.
The announcement "is a step in the right direction, but falls short of what was really needed," said Steve Goose, director of Human Rights Watch's arms division and chairman of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
"What we're calling on the Obama administration to do is definitively commit to accepting the treaty, commit to no use of antipersonnel land mines until they have been able to accede, and more importantly start the destruction of the antipersonnel land mines stockpiled."
Republican lawmakers said the policy could threaten South Korea.
"They have ignored the advice of our military leadership and gone against the bipartisan judgment of preceding administrations," Rep. Randy Forbes (R., Va.) said in a statement.
Since the Bush administration, U.S. officials have said they would eliminate persistent land mines, which can remain active for years after a conflict, and develop self-destructing or self-deactivating land mines.
Among other steps, the U.S. also previously committed to seeking a world-wide ban on the sale or export of all persistent land mines.
The Obama administration initially said it would continue with the Bush administration's policy and not join the treaty because the land mines were needed to meet U.S. security commitments.
In 2011, the administration changed course, and committed to reviewing the policy and considering how joining the treaty would impact military operations.
Although the U.S. hasn't yet committed to signing the treaty, it is the world's largest financial supporter of efforts at land mine removal and medical support for land mine victims.
— Jeffrey Sparshott and Dion Nissenbaum contributed to this article.
