U.S. won't join landmine ban, administration decides

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RAEL'S COMMENT: This is another crime against humanity committed by
the
United States and it's against civilians, since land mines are blind
killers. Most land mine victims are innocent civilians, including
children.

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Source: CNN
http://www.cnn. com/2009/ POLITICS/ 11/24/us. landmines/ index.html

U.S. won't join landmine ban, administration decides

From *Charley Keyes*, CNN Senior Producer

*Washington (CNN)* -- The United States won't join its NATO allies
and
many other countries in formally banning landmines, State Department
spokesman Ian Kelly said during his midday briefing Tuesday.

"This administration undertook a policy review and we decided our
landmine policy remains in effect," Kelly said in response to a
question. "We made our policy review and we determined that we would
not
be able to meet our national defense needs nor our security
commitments
to our friends and allies if we sign this convention."

Opponents of the U.S. landmine policy said they were surprised.

"It is a disturbing development, " said Steve Goose of Human Rights
Watch
<http://topics. cnn.com/topics/ Human_Rights_ Watch>. "The
administration
never said a policy review was under way."

Goose said the decision to leave the policy in place is at odds with
the
administration' s professed commitments to international agreements
and
humanitarian issues.

"The international treaty against landmines has made a a huge
difference
and it is a very strong deterrent," Goose said. "It has to have been
a
very fast and cursory review."

The United States will attend an international conference on
landmines
next week in Cartagena, Colombia, sending an inter-agency delegation
from the State and Defense departments as observers.

Kelly said the United States continues to work with governments as
well
as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to help remove landmines.

"The U.S. is proud to be the world's single largest supporter of
humanitarian mine action," Kelly said. "Since 1993 the U.S. has
provided
more than $1.5 billion worldwide dedicated to building new
partnerships
with more than 50 post-conflict countries and supporting efforts by
dozens of NGOs to promote stability and set the stage for recovery
and
development through mine clearance and conventional- weapons
destruction
programs."

The United States is the only member of NATO that will not sign the
landmine treaty, Goose said. Russia and China also have not joined
the
156 nations that have endorsed the ban, he said.
.