The U.S. released a surprise statement to the international landmine summit in Nairobi, promising to ban its usage of anti-personnel mines by 2010 … almost.
The world will have to wait until 2010 before the United States of America bans the use of anti-personnel landmines.
This is the message the military superpower sent to the delegates attending the first review conference of the anti-personnel Mine Ban Treaty held in Nairobi.
In an unsigned press release distributed to the delegates, the US statement said between now and 2010, the possible use of persistent anti-personnel landmines will be restricted only to “our security treaty obligations in South Korea and any possible use outside that country will require presidential authorisation”.
The US announced it had increased its mine action budget by 50 percent over the 2003 levels for a new total of $70 million per year.
This is a wise maneuver, showing a willingness to cooperate against an international menace, yet still both retaining an out in case of need and maintaining a realistic view of the weapon’s current role as a deterrence on the Korean peninsula.