Friday
Jan232009
Obama's America Rejoins the World: US Finally Joins Convention on Conventional Weapons
Friday, January 23, 2009 at 16:31
Amidst the headlines on President Obama's orders on Guantanamo Bay and torture, this may slip by. It shouldn't.
The United States, 25 years after the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons came into force, has finally joined all of its Protocols. The State Department announced today that the US had deposited "instruments of ratification" for Protocol III (incendiary weapons), Protocol IV (blinding laser weapons(, and Protocol V (explosive remnants of war).
I'm pretty sure this was one of the international agreements that Bush Administration officials, such as John Bolton, so proudly trashed as the US Government maintained its unilateral position, even before 11 September 2001. So this news shouldn't be quiet --- it should be lauded as a sign that Washington is returning to international co-operation, at least in principle, in the regulation of warfare and the resolution of conflict.
The United States, 25 years after the United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons came into force, has finally joined all of its Protocols. The State Department announced today that the US had deposited "instruments of ratification" for Protocol III (incendiary weapons), Protocol IV (blinding laser weapons(, and Protocol V (explosive remnants of war).
I'm pretty sure this was one of the international agreements that Bush Administration officials, such as John Bolton, so proudly trashed as the US Government maintained its unilateral position, even before 11 September 2001. So this news shouldn't be quiet --- it should be lauded as a sign that Washington is returning to international co-operation, at least in principle, in the regulation of warfare and the resolution of conflict.