WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday cancelled an Obama-era prohibition on the use of anti-personnel landmines outside of the Korean peninsula. A White House statement said the new U.S. policy authorizes military commanders to use landmines that are “non-persistent,” meaning they have built-in mechanisms to destroy or deactivate the mine after a certain period. President Barack Obama had prohibited the military from using any landmines anywhere in the world except in defence of South Korea. The White House statement said commanders could use them “in exceptional circumstances,” but did not say what that means. In remarks to reporters before the White House announcement, Esper made the case for giving U.S. military commanders the latitude to use landmines as a means to “shape the battlefield” and protect American forces.

Source: thestar January 31, 2020 17:30 UTC