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Brace yourselves!
In yet another reversal of an Obama-era policy, President Donald Trump will allow the US military to again use landmines in conflicts around the world.
According to an internal State Department cable obtained by Vox, Trump has rescinded former President Barack Obama’s 2014 directive to no longer “produce or otherwise acquire any anti-personnel landmines,” known as APLs, which are small explosive devices placed under, on, or near the ground. The cable also lifts the Obama administration’s restriction on deploying landmines outside of the Korean Peninsula.
Landmines are a particularly gruesome weapon. If a person triggers a landmine by stepping on it and survives, the severe injuries typically require the amputation of limbs or multiple operations. The International Committee of the Red Cross reports that “war surgeons consider them among the worst injuries they have to treat.”
The Landmine Monitor, a watchdog group, says that there have been roughly 130,000 casualties due to landmines between 1999 and 2018, the majority of which have been civilians.
More than 160 countries have signed on to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines. The US, however, has never signed it.
Obama’s 2014 directive restricted landmine use to just the Korean Peninsula, “to reduce humanitarian harm,” according to Rob Berschinski, who worked in the human rights office of Obama’s National Security Council.
Exclusive: State Department cable reveals new Trump policy expanding landmine use
This reverses an Obama administration restriction on landmine stockpiles and use in war.
www.vox.com
In yet another reversal of an Obama-era policy, President Donald Trump will allow the US military to again use landmines in conflicts around the world.
According to an internal State Department cable obtained by Vox, Trump has rescinded former President Barack Obama’s 2014 directive to no longer “produce or otherwise acquire any anti-personnel landmines,” known as APLs, which are small explosive devices placed under, on, or near the ground. The cable also lifts the Obama administration’s restriction on deploying landmines outside of the Korean Peninsula.
Landmines are a particularly gruesome weapon. If a person triggers a landmine by stepping on it and survives, the severe injuries typically require the amputation of limbs or multiple operations. The International Committee of the Red Cross reports that “war surgeons consider them among the worst injuries they have to treat.”
The Landmine Monitor, a watchdog group, says that there have been roughly 130,000 casualties due to landmines between 1999 and 2018, the majority of which have been civilians.
More than 160 countries have signed on to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines. The US, however, has never signed it.
Obama’s 2014 directive restricted landmine use to just the Korean Peninsula, “to reduce humanitarian harm,” according to Rob Berschinski, who worked in the human rights office of Obama’s National Security Council.