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WASHINGTON- Rep. Howard P. “Buck “ McKeon (R-CA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, made the following statement on the Ottawa Convention of 1997, which prohibits the use of anti-personnel land mines:
“It has come to our attention through informal sources that President Obama intends to commit America to the Ottawa Convention, renouncing the use of land mines by our Armed Forces. While the NSC has attempted to obfuscate the issue, they are noticeably silent in any denial that the President is committed to this course of action. No one can deny the painful human cost of the irresponsible use of these weapons, but committing our country to this treaty won’t do anything to repair that damage. Signing the Ottawa treaty goes against the best advice our Nation’s military commanders have offered, substantially increases our risk in dangerous parts of the world, and imposes a needless financial burden on an already strapped military. It is the wrong decision for our country and it is especially problematic for key U.S. allies who do not need another reason to doubt U.S. commitment to their security.
“Many countries use landmines irresponsibly, but the United States is not one of them. In fact, the over 400,000 mines in our inventory all either self-destruct or self-deactivate. America does more than any other country to mitigate the land mine damage done by others- spending over $2 billion on the problem since 1993. The cost to replace our mines in areas where they are essential to our defense and that of our allies, like the Korean Peninsula, will run into the hundreds of millions. The cost of an alternative defensive platform could be billions more.
“We cannot improve upon the assessment of General Dempsey, who in a hearing before the Armed Services Committee this year said, ‘I have rendered my military advice that I consider land mines, especially the ones that we have….to be an important tool in the arsenal of the Armed Forces of the United States.' If the White House truly wants to lay Americans concerns on this important matter to rest, they should clearly confirm that they are following the best military advice of our uniformed leadership and opposing this treaty.”
More on Opposing The Ottawa Convention:
- Yesterday Congressman Forbes offered an amendment on the Defense Appropriations bill aimed at protecting the military from the impacts of the Ottawa Convention. The Forbes Amendment would deny funding to implement the Ottawa Convention – including hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses for the United States military. The Amendment passed by voice vote and was included in the Appropriations bill’s bi-partisan House passage today.
- Forbes spoke in support of his amendment on the House Floor last night. "When President Clinton looked at this, he rejected that treaty because he realized those landmines were what kept North Korea from invading South Korea for decades. When George W. Bush looked at it, he rejected it because he realized how militarily impractical it would be" Forbes said. "It's time we start listening to our military experts at the Pentagon and we start taking their advice for what we need for national security."
- Chairman McKeon praised Chairman Forbes' work in trying to prevent the Obama administration from making this dangerous mistake in a television interview yesterday.
- The Wall Street Journal editorial board also criticized the Obama administration over the Ottawa Convention yesterday. You can read their full editorial HERE - Excerpts Below:
"So has peace recently broken out in Korea? "My military judgment is actually [that] the tensions on the peninsula have increased," Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey told Congress in March. He called land mines "an important tool in the arsenal of the armed forces of the United States." The current U.S. commander in Korea, General Curtis Scaparrotti, in April called them "a critical element in the defense of the Republic of Korea and our interest there." A 30-page military briefing on the dangers of the land-mine ban remains classified.
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"Mr. Obama knows that the Senate won't vote to ratify this treaty, but he also knows that once he signs, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties requires that Washington not act contrary to the accord's "object and purpose." So against consistent military advice, the U.S. may have to start abandoning anti-personnel mines—forcing ally South Korea to do the same—on the President's signature alone.
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"Republican Congressman Randy Forbes tells us that he will introduce a measure to block any spending on treaty compliance unless the Senate backs ratification. Unfortunately it's a big ask for Democratic Senators to go against Mr. Obama on such an emotive issue. Celebrity activists and a preening President are likely to win the day."
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