The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee on Friday panned the Obama administration’s decision to comply with a treaty banning landmines, calling it a “feel good press release” that endangered U.S. troops.
“Once again the president makes an end-run around Congress and demonstrates his willingness to place politics above the advice of our military leaders,” Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said in a statement.
{mosads}“His announcement today is perfect for a feel good press release but bad for the security of our men and women in uniform.”
The White House on Friday said the U.S. would no longer manufacture or acquire anti-personnel landmines, brining the country in line with the 1997 Ottawa Convention accord signed by 161 other nations.
The new policy was announced to coincide with a conference on the treaty that is being held in Mozambique.
McKeon cited remarks by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey that landmines employed by the U.S. are an “important tools in the arsenal of the armed forces of the United States.”
The outgoing panel chairman said Obama “owes our military an explanation for ignoring their advice … all for a Friday morning press release.”
McKeon called the move an “expensive solution in search of a nonexistent problem.”
“Irresponsible land mine use by other countries has come at a high humanitarian price, but America isn’t part of the problem,” he said.
The White House said the U.S. has given more than $2.3 billion to 90 nations for conventional weapons destruction since 1993, making it the biggest monetary backer of clearing landmines and medical assistance for those hurt by them.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, also criticized the decision.
In a statement, he called the announcement a “brazen attempt by the president to circumvent the constitutional responsibility of the Senate to provide advice and consent to international treaties that bind the United States.”
This story was updated at 1:54 p.m.