Congressional Letter to Secretary of Defense Esper -
May 6, 2020
On May 6, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) headed a congressional oversight letter with more than 100 members of Congress to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper expressing disappointment to the Trump Administration’s reversal of the policy limiting the use of antipersonnel landmines to the defense of South Korea, and seeking answers to questions on the justification for the reversal and future plans.
Resources:
Experts* provided the following public comments on the delivery of the letter. Please contact experts directly for further comments:
Jeff Abramson, Senior Fellow, Arms Control Association
"The letter signed by more than 100 members of Congress requesting answers from Secretary Esper is a good step toward revealing the faulty Pentagon logic for expanding landmine use, which places the United States out of step with all its NATO allies and more than 160 countries that now forswear these indiscriminate weapons. Congress should also take action to bar any new use of landmines or their production, and move our country toward joining the vast majority of the world in supporting the Mine Ban Treaty."
Contact: jeff@armscontrol.org or 202-463-8270 x 112
Jeff Meer, U.S. Executive Director, Humanity & Inclusion
"Americans deserve to know why the Administration would willingly choose to put civilians in harm’s way by green-lighting landmines, a weapon that our own troops haven’t deployed in nearly 30 years. This letter contains an important set of questions, but no matter the answers, the position of Humanity & Inclusion is steadfast: there is no valid reason for the Department of Defense to permit the use of anti-personnel landmines. Whether or how the devices are eventually used, or their relative “safety,” are not the issue. The United States belongs on the right side of history: to support the permanent ban of anti-personnel landmines, which injure and kill vastly more civilians than members of any military."
Contact: j.meer@hi.org or 202-290 9264 (for media inquiries)
Diana Ohlbaum, Senior Strategist and Legislative Director for Foreign Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation
“We appreciate this effort by 107 members of Congress to hold the administration accountable for its disgraceful new landmine policy. With most of the world having agreed to prohibit the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of antipersonnel mines, the United States is defying the broad consensus that these weapons are unethical and inhumane.”
Contact: Tim McHugh, Friends Committee on National Legislation, media@fcnl.org; 202-903-2515
Erica Fein, Advocacy Director at Win Without War.
"This letter raises many important questions. But there’s one thing that’s not in question: landmines maim and kill indiscriminately. There is no reason for the Trump administration to contravene both existing U.S. policy and widely-accepted international norms simply to put civilians at greater risk of harm. To do so without explanation, or even the most basic of relevant information, only makes it all the more outrageous."
Contact: Michael Galant, michael@winwithoutwar.org, 203-260-4654
Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director, Policy and Political Affairs, Peace Action
"Most of the world agrees: ban landmines because they indiscriminately kill innocents for years and are costly to clear. The Trump administration’s decision to reverse U.S. policy and allow the use of these horrific weapons deserves scrutiny. Answers to the questions in this bipartisan letter — led by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA-2) and signed by 107 members of Congress — will show that the U.S. should ratify the Mine Ban Treaty."
Contact: Paul Kawika Martin, 951-217-7285 cell, pmartin@peace-action.org
* Inclusion in this list does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others, or of/by the Forum on the Arms Trade.
Resources:
Experts* provided the following public comments on the delivery of the letter. Please contact experts directly for further comments:
Jeff Abramson, Senior Fellow, Arms Control Association
"The letter signed by more than 100 members of Congress requesting answers from Secretary Esper is a good step toward revealing the faulty Pentagon logic for expanding landmine use, which places the United States out of step with all its NATO allies and more than 160 countries that now forswear these indiscriminate weapons. Congress should also take action to bar any new use of landmines or their production, and move our country toward joining the vast majority of the world in supporting the Mine Ban Treaty."
Contact: jeff@armscontrol.org or 202-463-8270 x 112
Jeff Meer, U.S. Executive Director, Humanity & Inclusion
"Americans deserve to know why the Administration would willingly choose to put civilians in harm’s way by green-lighting landmines, a weapon that our own troops haven’t deployed in nearly 30 years. This letter contains an important set of questions, but no matter the answers, the position of Humanity & Inclusion is steadfast: there is no valid reason for the Department of Defense to permit the use of anti-personnel landmines. Whether or how the devices are eventually used, or their relative “safety,” are not the issue. The United States belongs on the right side of history: to support the permanent ban of anti-personnel landmines, which injure and kill vastly more civilians than members of any military."
Contact: j.meer@hi.org or 202-290 9264 (for media inquiries)
Diana Ohlbaum, Senior Strategist and Legislative Director for Foreign Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation
“We appreciate this effort by 107 members of Congress to hold the administration accountable for its disgraceful new landmine policy. With most of the world having agreed to prohibit the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of antipersonnel mines, the United States is defying the broad consensus that these weapons are unethical and inhumane.”
Contact: Tim McHugh, Friends Committee on National Legislation, media@fcnl.org; 202-903-2515
Erica Fein, Advocacy Director at Win Without War.
"This letter raises many important questions. But there’s one thing that’s not in question: landmines maim and kill indiscriminately. There is no reason for the Trump administration to contravene both existing U.S. policy and widely-accepted international norms simply to put civilians at greater risk of harm. To do so without explanation, or even the most basic of relevant information, only makes it all the more outrageous."
Contact: Michael Galant, michael@winwithoutwar.org, 203-260-4654
Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director, Policy and Political Affairs, Peace Action
"Most of the world agrees: ban landmines because they indiscriminately kill innocents for years and are costly to clear. The Trump administration’s decision to reverse U.S. policy and allow the use of these horrific weapons deserves scrutiny. Answers to the questions in this bipartisan letter — led by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA-2) and signed by 107 members of Congress — will show that the U.S. should ratify the Mine Ban Treaty."
Contact: Paul Kawika Martin, 951-217-7285 cell, pmartin@peace-action.org
* Inclusion in this list does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others, or of/by the Forum on the Arms Trade.