Landmines for Peace

In a chilling example of how this President shows no empathy for anything living, he has decided not to support the ban on landmines. This, dispite the proud fact that the US was the first to call for this ban in 1994. And well we should have. These terrible weapons kill and mame 15,000 to 20,000 people per year, mostly children. Not only are we not supporting the ban, but we plan to produce a new generation that can be even more deadly - the gift that keeps on giving years after wars are over.

"The United States would "seek a worldwide agreement as soon as possible to end the use of antipersonnel mines," President Bill Clinton said at the start of his second term in the White House.

But the Bush administration reversed that promise last February with the Department of State declaring that landmines still have "a valid and essential role" in protecting U.S. forces in military operations."

..."It's a step backward for the United States," says Stephen Goose, an arms expert with U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.

"While the rest of the world is rushing to embrace an immediate and comprehensive ban, the Bush administration has decided to cling to the weapons in perpetuity," he adds."

(US No Longer Promoting Landmine Abolition by Haider Rizvi, December 28, 2005 OneWorld.net)