U.S. vow to stop making and buying anti-personnel landmines gets mixed reaction

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/27/u-s-says-will-no-longer-make-buy-anti-personnel-landmines/



U.S. vow to stop making and buying anti-personnel landmines gets mixed reaction
By Reuters
Friday, June 27, 2014 17:52 EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said on Friday it would no longer make or buy anti-personnel landmines and that it would strive to eventually join the global treaty banning the weapons, but it stopped short of agreeing to destroy its stockpile of 3 million mines.

The decision was hailed by arms control groups as a small yet significant step forward. But Representative Randy Forbes warned that it would threaten security on the Korean peninsula, and Representative Buck McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said it was “bad for the security of our men and women in uniform.”

A U.S. delegation made the announcement at a review conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in Mozambique, and the White House later confirmed the decision.

“The United States took the step of declaring it will not produce or otherwise acquire any anti-personnel landmines in the future, including to replace existing stockpiles as they expire,” the White House said in a statement.

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Maybe someday the United States will sign a ban on torture too.