All posts tagged: bombing

Historic: US announces increased $15M to remove bombs in Laos

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What a great start to the Monday morning for 4th of July week and on the heels of SCOTUS wins. If you needed further proof of what dedicated lobbying and international advocacy does, just take a look at the work of Legacies of War. Legacies of War just released the latest news that the US announced an increase in funding for the UXO (unexploded ordnance) sector in Laos to $15 million, an all-time high since a mere $2 million a decade ago. Legacies of War applauds the increase in U.S. funding for the unexploded ordnance (UXO) sector in Laos to $15 million, the highest level in history. It is a five-fold increase since 2009, when Legacies of War first called for an increase in U.S. commitment to remove unexploded bombs leftover from the Vietnam War-era. The funding, appropriated by Congress and administered by the State Department, goes to support the dozen groups working in Laos on demining, victim assistance and risk education. Read the full press release here. TUNE IN: LLOTP’s founding editor, Chanida Phaengdara Potter, …

Should President Obama visit Laos?

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As reported on Voice of America, “President Barack Obama is set to visit Burma this month, as part of a four-day trip to Southeast Asia. The president will also stop in Thailand and Cambodia. Obama will be the first U.S. president to visit Burma and Cambodia.  The trip is scheduled for November 17-20.” Will he make a side trip to Laos? Granted, it’s already been a big year with U.S. Secretary of State Clinton making the first trip back to Laos this summer, making it the first time since 1955 that a Secretary of State visited the country. In a July 11th article in the Huffington Post, Bradley Klapper pointed out “Laos is the latest test case of the Obama administration’s efforts to “pivot” U.S. foreign policy away from the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The efforts follow a long period of estrangement between Washington and a former Cold War-era foe, and come as U.S. relations also warm with countries such as Myanmar and Vietnam.” When she came, she spent less than half-a-day there. But …