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ByNedraPickler The Associated Press WASHINGTON After two decades of waffling, the United States on Friday announced its intention to join an international treaty banning land mines, with- out setting a time frame while working through pos- sible complications on the Korean Peninsula. Human rights advocates applauded the progress, but said the Obama ad- ministration should imme- diately commit to a ban and begin destroying its stock- pile, while Republicans ac- cused the president of dis- regarding military leaders who wanted to maintain land mines in the U.S. ar- senal. The 15-year-old Ottawa Convention includes 161 na- tions that have signed on to prohibit the use, stockpil- ing, production and trans- fer of anti-personnel mines. President Bill Clinton had a goal of joining the treaty, but the Bush administra- tion pulled back amid ob- jections from military lead- ers. Obama ordered up a re- view of the U.S. policy when he came to office five years ago, and a U.S. delegation announced the change in position Friday to a land mine conference in Maputo, Mozambique. "We're signaling our clear aspiration to eventu- ally accede to the Ottawa Convention," White House press secretary Josh Ear- nest told reporters travel- ling with the president Fri- day. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the United States has no land mines currently deployed around the globe but maintains an active stockpile of just over 3 million. "They are all in inventory and that's where they will stay," Kirby said. He added that the stock- pile will begin to expire in about 10 years and be com- pletely unusable in about 20 years. Human rights advo- cates say all land mines be- ing used in the Demilita- rized Zone between North and South Korea belong to South Korea, but the U.S. maintains a stockpile in South Korea in case of an invasion from the north. Earnest said Friday's an- nouncement did not indi- cate a reduced commitment to South Korea. "This issue is going to re- quire some additional study and eventually we would like to find a way that we can, like I said, continue the robust defense in place of our allies in South Korea while eventually attaining to the Ottawa Convention, " Earnest said. Physicians for Human Rights director of pro- grams Widney Brown said the U.S. announcement is "a step in the right direction, but we remain concerned about anything less than a full commitment to sign the Mine Ban Treaty as soon as possible." "The U.S. government has been missing a key opportunity to lead on a groundbreaking agreement that has achieved great suc- cess in preventing deaths of innocent victims, including many children," she said. Steve Goose, head of del- egation for the Interna- tional Campaign to Ban Landmines, said the U.S. should at least set a tar- get date to join the treaty, immediately pledge not to use land mines and begin destruction of its stockpiles. "While they are saying they are working toward banning them in the fu- ture, they are leaving open the option of continuing to use them in the meantime, which is kind of a contra- dictory way to approach things," Goose said in a telephone interview from the Mozambique confer- ence. "They're bad enough to ban them, but we still want to use them." The administration's announcement also was also criticized by the top Republicans on the House and Senate Armed Ser- vices Committees, who cited recent testimony by Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that land mines are an "important tool in the arsenal of the armed forces of the United States." "The president owes our military an explanation for ignoring their advice and putting them at risk, all for a Friday morning press re- lease," said Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon of Califor- nia. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said: "The president's land mine policy seriously weak- ens the United States at a time when threats to the nation are on the rise." OTTAWA CONVENTION US plans to curb land mines, join global treaty THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 720th Military Police Battalion watch as a mine sweeper looks for weapons in a hole they dug during a raid on a farmland just outside Tikrit, Iraq, in 2003. The Obama administration announced Friday that the US will no longer produce or acquire anti- personnel land mines and plans to join an international treaty banning their use. (530)824-2418*2791Hwy99WCorning,Ca96021 (Located near Love's Truck Center) RedTruckRockYard,LLC Red Truck Rock Yard, LLC • Decorative Rock • Bark • Topsoil • Patio Rocks • Sand • B ould ers • Concrete Trailers • Fountains • Gifts • Delivery & Tractor Service Available Open Monday-Friday 8:00am to 5:00 pm Saturday Call for Hours Gibbs Auto Body Trivia: In what year did Gibbs Auto Body move to it's new location at 705 Mill St? A) 2012 B) 2013 C) 2014 Drawingforprizewillbeheld7-4-14 Since 1950 Stop in to submit your answers 705 Mill St. (Next to Walmart) Red Bluff, CA • 527-2649 | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 2014 4 C