The ambassadors’ letter follows this week’s meeting in Washington, D.C. between Secretary Clinton and the Foreign Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, marking the first visit by a senior Lao official to the U.S. in over thirty years.

The ambassadors noted the steady progress that has been made by Laos in areas such as economic and trade liberalization and religious freedom since the end of the Vietnam War. However, the ambassadors reminded Secretary Clinton of the lingering legacy of war: the scourge of UXO that still litters the Lao countryside. As the ambassadors wrote, “During the war, over 2.5 million tons of U.S. munitions were dropped on Laos, more than was dropped on Germany and Japan combined in the Second World War. On a per capita basis, Laos is the most heavily bombed country in history. Up to 30 percent of these bombs failed to detonate, and UXO in Laos continues to impede development and cause hundreds of casualties each year.”

The letter was signed by the following former United States ambassadors to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Theresa A. Tull, Charles B. Salmon, Jr., Victor L. Tomseth, Wendy J. Chamberlin, and Douglas A. Hartwick. Collectively, they served in Laos from 1983 to 2004.

About Legacies of War

Legacies of War is a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness about the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing in Laos and advocate for the clearance of unexploded bombs, to provide space for healing the wounds of war, and to create greater hope for a future of peace.

Contact

Ambassador (ret.) Douglas A. Hartwick, Honorary Committee, Legacies of War

Cell: 571-432-9409 Email: dahartwick@gmail.com

Channapha Khamvongsa, Executive Director, Legacies of War

Cell: (703) 868-0030 Email: channapha@legaciesofwar.org

Brett Dakin, Chair, Legacies of War

Cell: (347) 268-8598 Email: brett@legaciesofwar.org

The governments of Chile and Norway and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are hosting the conference, which is the biggest international gathering on the Convention since it opened for signature in Oslo in December 2008 and will lay the groundwork for the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention, which Lao PDR, the most-affected country, will host from 8-12 November.

At this historic meeting in Lao PDR, States Parties will agree on an action plan that includes concrete steps to determine how the treaty’s legal obligations will be put into practice at the national level. The treaty bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions, sets strict deadlines for clearance of contaminated land (within 10 years) and destruction of stockpiles of the weapon (within eight years), and includes groundbreaking provisions for assistance to victims and affected communities.

“We have a strong treaty banning cluster bombs, and now we need to match it with a plan of action to help victims, destroy stockpiles and clear the land,” said Thomas Nash, CMC Coordinator, “Countries meeting in Chile this week have a unique opportunity to come up with ambitious proposals to translate legal obligations into real actions.” See more from CMC Press Release.

The conference sessions include presentations from governments, NGOs and survivors. Ban Advocates Soraj Ghulam Habib from Afganistan and Bounmy Vichack from Laos, made statements on the first day of the conference.

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2010 – Legacies of War Executive Director Channapha Khamvongsa testified today before the House Foreign Affairs Committee during the first hearing ever held by Congress on the scourge of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Laos, a legacy of the U.S. bombing of Laos during the Vietnam War. During her testimony, Khamvongsa presented Legacies of War’s recommendation for increased U.S. funding for UXO removal in Laos: an annual U.S. commitment of $10 million over the next 10 years—less than what the U.S. spent in one week bombing Laos.

In an extraordinary historical coincidence, the hearing was held 39 years to the day after the late Senator Edward Kennedy held a hearing in 1971 to address war-related civilian problems in Laos, first exposing the Secret War in Laos to the American public with the assistance of activist and key Legacies of War supporter Fred Branfman.

Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment Chairman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega of American Samoa, joined by Representative Mike Honda of California, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, opened the hearing with a strong endorsement of the goals of Legacies of War.

Noting that the U.S. State Department has proposed a decrease in funding for UXO removal in Laos for 2011, Faleomavaega said, “It is shameful that the U.S. State Department has not taken a more active role in making things right for the people of Laos but, for the first time in 39 years, I am hopeful that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may be willing to champion their cause.”

First to testify before the Subcommittee was Scot Marciel, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs, of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Marciel acknowledged the horrible human toll of UXO in Laos, stating that over 2.5 million tons of U.S. munitions were dropped on Laos, making Laos the most heavily bombed country in history, on a per capita basis. Marciel noted that up to 30 percent of the bombs dropped over Laos failed to detonate, and that these explosive remnants of war continue to impede development and cause hundreds of casualties a year.

Praising Laos’ UXO removal program, Marciel emphasized that the UXO problem is not insurmountable. With increased international support, he stated, “the results will be dramatic: vastly reduced casualty levels and the clearance of virtually all of the country’s highest priority land areas.”

Marciel was followed by Legacies of War’s Channapha Khamvongsa, who noted that just this year, on February 19, five children from Champassak Province had been killed by UXO. “The problem of UXO in Laos has been allowed to persist far too long,” Khamvongsa said. “Too many innocent lives have been lost. Too many farmers and children have been left disabled, their lives forever changed. But it is not too late to stop this senseless suffering.”

Khamvongsa called on the U.S. State Department to make an annual commitment of $10 million to Laos over the next 10 years to strengthen and secure the UXO sector’s capacity and bring its already effective programs to scale. “This ten-year $100 million commitment to UXO removal in Laos would total less than what the U.S. spent in one week bombing Laos,” she noted.

Khamvongsa was joined by representatives of the non-governmental organizations the Humpty Dumpty Institute and Mines Advisory Group America, who echoed her call for increased U.S. funding for UXO removal in Laos.

Video
* Webcast (Requires RealPlayer)

Statements

* Chairman Eni Faleomavaega
* Scot Marciel, U.S. Department of State
* Channapha Khamvongsa, Legacies of War
* Robert Keeley, Humpty Dumpty Institute
* Virgil Wiebe, Mines Advisory Group

Press

* Press Release
* Press Advisory

“This is a evidence that when the United States leads with our ideals, the world takes the power of our example very seriously. We fought hard to end our own unwarranted, unjustifiable HIV travel restriction, and now China has taken the same step,” Chairman Kerry said. “I urge other nations to follow this example by striking down any law that unjustly discriminates against HIV positive individuals.”

In 2008, the Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation Kerry co-authored with former Senator Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) to lift the statutory travel and immigration ban as part of the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) reauthorization. President Bush signed the bill into law and President Obama enacted the final regulations to lift the ban earlier this year.

by Nakhone Keodara

Coming on the heels of the first anniversary of the launch of A Peaceful Legacy Campaign, it gives me great pleasure and I am filled with pride to learn that Legacies of War (“Legacies”) and its supporters have made yet another huge impact in Washington, D.C.

On Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 2p.m. EST, the U.S. House of Representatives will be holding a subcommittee hearing to specifically discuss the lingering affects of unexploded ordnances in Laos left from the Vietnam War-era. Dubbed “Legacies of War: Unexploded Ordnances in Laos“, Representative Eni Faleomavaega, Chairman of the subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment has taken into account the advocacy efforts that Legacies has undertaken, including A Peaceful Legacy Campaign, A Peaceful Legacy NOW Policy Briefing held last November in D.C. with participating non-governmental organizations from the UXO sector working in Laos, U.S. State Department as well as Lao diplomats. The historic convening culminated in a comprehensive report and Legacies presented its findings to Chairman Faleomavaega and urged his office to hold a hearing on this very important issue.

Always striking while the iron is hot, Legacies took advantage of the momentum by engaging the grassroots when three U.S. Congressmen, including Rep. Faleomavaega, returned from a fact-finding mission to Laos in connection with the now discredited allegations of abuse that were directed at the Lao government concerning Hmong refugees that were being repatriated in Laos from Thailand. While in Laos, the Congressmen and their staff had the opportunity to visit with Lao government and humanitarian organizations working on UXO clearance, victim assistance and risk education.

As a result of world attention on this issue, Legacies sent out missives to its supporters and allies asking that they bombard the offices of Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), Rep. Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (D-AS) and Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA) with letters/faxes and phone calls to express its gratitude, on behalf of the people of Laos, for their interest in the issue of UXO and encourage them to hold a Congressional hearing to review current funding for Laos.

Ladies and gentlemen, needless to say but well worth mentioning, all our advocacy work and our dedication is paying off handsomely. If you’re in D.C. on April 22nd, go to this hearing and pack the gallery of Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Do it for all of us who can’t be there! For those who couldn’t be there but would like to follow this proceeding, you can do so via a live WEBCAST link (available during the actual Hearing) on the Committee website at http://www.hcfa.house.gov.

Last, and certainly not least, we learned that beloved Mother of Lao people, Channapha Khamvongsa, executive director of Legacies of War will be one of the panelist (Panel II) in this proceeding. Please show her your gratitude (by sending letters of testimony to her office in D.C.) for all her tireless efforts and self-sacrifice in giving voice to the faceless and nameless from long ago and the countless innocent victims of the recent past (children that fell victim to these senseless bombs on February 22, 2010 and many others). The time has come for the people of Laos to live in peace and this is a great step forward toward that end.

For more info, see below:

April 15, 2010

TO: MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

You are respectfully requested to attend an OPEN hearing of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, to be held in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building (and available live, via the WEBCAST link on the Committee website at http://www.hcfa.house.gov):

DATE: Thursday, April 22, 2010

TIME: 2:00 p.m.

SUBJECT: Legacies of War: Unexploded Ordnances in Laos

WITNESSES: Panel I

The Honorable Scot Marciel

Deputy Assistant Secretary and Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

U.S. Department of State

Panel II

Ms. Channapha Khamvongsa

Executive Director

Legacies of War

Robert Keeley, Ph.D.

Country Program Manager for Laos

The Humpty Dumpty Institute

Mr. Virgil Wiebe

Member of the Board

Mines Advisory Group (MAG) America

Legacies of War: History...Healing...Hope

(New York, February 17, 2010) – Yesterday Burkina Faso and Moldova ratified the international convention banning cluster munitions, bringing the total ratifications to 30, the required number for the convention to enter into force. The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) will enter into force on August 1, 2010, and Laos will host the First Meeting of the State Parties in late 2010. The 104 signatory nations agree to prohibit all use, stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster munitions. Other provisions deal with victim assistance, clearance of contaminated areas and destruction of stockpiles. While most European countries have signed the CCM, the United States, Israel, Russia, China and India have not.

The CCM ratification is the conclusion of a three-year process, which began in February 2007 with the Oslo Declaration and will lead to the First Meeting of State Parties later this year in Vientiane, Laos. As the most heavily bombed country in history, Laos was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the CCM and is set to host the First Meeting of the State Parties in late 2010.

Vietnam War-era bombings by the U.S. from 1964 to 1973 left nearly half of the country contaminated with vast quantities of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Today, close to 78 million cluster submunitions litter forests, rice fields, villages, school grounds, roads, and other populated areas. Tens of thousands of people have been killed or injured by UXO in Laos since the bombing ceased; each year there are more than 300 new casualties, most of whom are children. Nearly 40 years on, only a fraction of these munitions have been destroyed.

The U.S. spent $2 million per day for nine years bombing Laos. However, the U.S. has only provided an average of $2.7 million per year for UXO clearance in Laos over the past 15 years. Put another way, the U.S. spent more in three days dropping bombs on Laos than they have spent in the last 15 years cleaning them up. Laos will have to escalate bomb clearance over the next ten years to meet its obligations under the CCM.

CONTACT:
Channapha Khamvongsa, Executive Director, (202) 965-1785, channapha@legaciesofwar.org

NOTES

About cluster bombs (www.stopclustermunitions.org)
A cluster munition (or cluster bomb) is a weapon containing multiple – often hundreds – of small explosive submunitions or bomblets. Cluster munitions are dropped from the air or fired from the ground and designed to break open in mid-air, releasing the submunitions over an area that can be the size of several football fields. This means they cannot discriminate between civilians and soldiers. Many of the submunitions fail to explode on impact and remain a threat to lives and livelihoods for decades after a conflict.

About Legacies of War
Legacies of War, a member of the Cluster Munitions Coalition, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness about the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing in Laos and advocate for the clearance of unexploded bombs, to provide space for healing the wounds of war, and to create greater hope for a future of peace.

Thai CDC will also introduce an “Adopt a Quilt” project and announce plans for the 15th commemoration of the first modern-day slavery case involving 72 Thai nationals. A dozen quilts made by human trafficking survivors will be displayed. The quilt project will help fund Thai CDC’s human trafficking program and the world premiere production of “Fabric” by Henry Ong. Thai CDC will partner with Company of Angels, Los Angeles’ oldest not-for-profit theater company, to produce “Fabric,” the only known stage dramatization of the El Monte case.

When:
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
12:30 p.m.

Where:
Wat Thai of Los Angeles (Thai Temple)
8225 Coldwater Canyon Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91605

Who:
Speakers will include:

Councilman Tony Cardenas, 6th Council District
Chanchanit Martorell, Thai CDC Executive Director
Henry Ong, Playwright
Panida Rzonca, Thai CDC Project Coordinator
Kay Buck, CAST Executive Director
Anna Park, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Regional Attorney
Kim Chi Bui, Department of Labor District Director
Rojana Cheunchujit Sussman, El Monte Case Survivor

Background:
Thai nationals continue to represent a disproportionate number of victims trafficked into the United States as modern-day slaves. Thai CDC has, for the past 15 years, worked relentlessly to combat this travesty. Known for its prominent role in the famed El Monte Garment Workers Slavery Case (the first case of modern-day slavery), Thai CDC continues to work on, and monitor, persistent violations. Since El Monte, Thai CDC has worked on six more cases, involving more than 400 Thai victims.

“The report contains the most up-to-date information on the issue of UXO in Laos,” says Brett Dakin, Chair of Legacies’ Board of Directors. He adds, “The November conference offered an historic opportunity to hear about the U.S. Vietnam War-era bombing and to discuss the current status of UXO clearance and related programs. This was the first time representatives of the U.S. and Lao governments and humanitarian organizations have all sat down together in one room to share their perspectives on finally addressing the long-term problem of UXO in Laos. We now have a clearer picture of the problem, and how to finally bring this 40-year old tragedy to an end.”

Legacies’ conference follows on the 2008 signing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and improved U.S.-Laos relations, reflecting growing international attention to the issue of cluster bombs. Presenters included: Lao Ambassador to the U.S. H.E. Phiane Philakone, Lao Ambassador to the UN Mission H.E. Kanika Phommachanh, Charles Stonecipher of the U.S. State Department, and representatives from Handicap International, Mines Advisory Group, World Education/Consortium, Humpty Dumpty Institute, and the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munitions, among others.

Background

Laos is the most heavily bombed country in history. Vietnam War-era bombings left nearly half of the country contaminated with vast quantities of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Today, cluster bombs litter forests, rice fields, villages, school grounds, roads, and other populated areas. Tens of thousands of people have been killed or injured by UXO since the bombing ceased; each year there continue to be more than 300 new casualties, most of whom are children. Nearly 40 years on, only a fraction of these munitions have been destroyed.

Key Findings

• Global Role of Laos: The government of Laos is committed to eliminating the terrible human and economic costs of UXO contamination. Toward this goal, Laos was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). Laos is set to host the First Meeting of the State Parties to the CCM sometime in 2010 once 30 countries have ratified the treaty.

• UXO Effect on Development in Laos: The United Nations has designated Laos as one of the Least Developed Countries in the world. Progress on UXO issues in Laos is essential for making Laos a safe place to live and lifting the economy out of poverty in accordance with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

• Effective UXO Sector in Laos: The UXO clearance sector in Laos has evolved into a highly efficient and effective sector, featuring effective government oversight and increasing capacity among government agencies, NGOs, and commercial operators working in the country. A representative of the U.S. State Department’s Weapons Removal and Abatement (WRA) program called Laos the “gold standard” in the UXO clearance sector.

• Clear Plan for Future: The National Regulatory Authority (NRA), the agency within the government of Laos responsible for UXO issues, has outlined its UXO clearance goals in Safe Path Forward Strategic Plan (2010-2020). However, successful implementation of this plan will require substantial additional funding. The NRA currently receives about $14 million a year total, but estimates it will need around $24 million a year to meet its ten-year goals.

• Victim Assistance Needs: At present, victim assistance programs in Laos receive only half the necessary funding needed to adequately help victims and their families. Funding through NGOs and UNICEF is $2.5 million annually, which pays for data collection, medical care, physical and psychosocial rehabilitation, economic rehabilitation and vocational training, and advocacy.

• Alarming Decline in Funding: Despite the efficiency and effectiveness of UXO clearance in Laos, unfortunately there is a downward trend in funding. International funding for UXO in Laos declined by 22% from 2007 to 2008. Despite the continuing and clear needs in Laos, this follows the overall international trend of decreased funding for demining activities.

Key Recommendations

One of the key recommendations is to double U.S. funding for UXO clearance in Laos to $7 million per year, with substantial additional increases over the next ten years. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. spent an average of $2 million per day for nine years bombing Laos. In recent years, the U.S. has spent approximately $2.7 million per year on UXO clearance in Laos; in 2009 Laos will receive a total of $3.5 million through different NGOs.

Other key recommendations can be found in the full report at http://act.legaciesofwar.org/report/.

About Legacies of War:

Legacies of War is a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness about the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing in Laos and advocate for the clearance of unexploded bombs, to provide space for healing the wounds of war, and to create greater hope for a future of peace.

Contact:

Channapha Khamvongsa, Executive Director, Legacies of War
(202) 965-1785

channapha(at)legaciesofwar(dot)org/www.legaciesofwar.org

###

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Senate Floor
December 1, 2009

MR. LEAHY. I want to speak briefly on a subject that many Members of Congress – Democrats and Republicans – have had an abiding interest in over the years.

Throughout this week, delegates from countries around the world will gather in Cartagena, Colombia, to participate in the Second Review Conference of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction.

The Cartagena review conference, would have been the perfect opportunity for the Obama Administration to announce its intention to join the 156 other nations that are parties to the treaty, including our coalition allies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In fact, every member of NATO and every country in our hemisphere, except Cuba, is a party to the treaty. The United States is one of only 37 countries that have not joined, along with Russia and China.

By announcing our intention to join the treaty in Cartagena, this Administration would have signaled to the rest of the world that the United States is finally showing the leadership that has been wanting on these indiscriminate weapons that maim and kill thousands of innocent people every year.

The United States military is the most powerful in the world. Yet we have seen how civilian casualties in Afghanistan have become one of the most urgent and pressing concerns of our military commanders, where bombs that missed their targets and other mistakes have turned the populace against us.

Despite this, one of the arguments the Pentagon makes for resisting calls to join the Mine Ban Treaty is to preserve its option to use landmines in Afghanistan, even though we have not used these indiscriminate weapons since 1991.

Since the Pentagon has never voluntarily given up any weapon, including poison gas, which President Woodrow Wilson renounced in 1925, perhaps this is to be expected.

But can anyone imagine the Unites States using landmines in Afghanistan, a country where more civilians have been killed or horribly injured from mines than any other in history?

A country which, like our coalition partners, is itself a party to the treaty?

A country where if we used mines and civilians were killed or injured the public outcry in Afghanistan and around the world would be deafening?

Can anyone imagine this President, who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize which only a few years ago was awarded to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, having to publicly defend such a decision?

I wonder if anyone at the Pentagon has thought of the military and political implications of that.

Last Tuesday, the State Department spokesman announced that the Administration had completed a review on its landmine policy and had decided to continue supporting the Bush Administration’s policy, which was, in key aspects, a retreat from the policy of President Clinton.

This was a surprise to me and others, as I had encouraged the Administration to conduct such a review and then heard nothing for months. In fact, I had spoken personally with President Obama about it just a few weeks before.

I did not hesitate to express my disappointment, as did many others. Shortly thereafter this wave of criticism, the State Department reversed itself, and announced that a “comprehensive review” is continuing and that it would send a team of observers to the Cartagena review conference this week.

It may well be that the State Department spokesman misspoke. Whatever the truth is, the Administration’s approach to this issue up until this past weekend has been cursory, half-hearted, and deeply disappointing to those of us who expected a serious, thorough reexamination of this issue.

One would hope that an Administration that portrays itself as a global leader on issues of humanitarian law and arms control recognizes this is an opportunity.

Any serious review should begin by examining the extensive history of the negotiations that led to the treaty, and the technical issues that were debated and addressed.

It should involve consulting our allies, like Great Britain and Canada, whose militaries have operated in accordance with the treaty’s obligations for a decade, including with our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, to determine what their experience has been.

It should involve consulting with the Pentagon, of course, but also with retired senior U.S. military officers and diplomats, many of whom have expressed support for the treaty.

It should involve consulting with Members of Congress, and with the humanitarian and arms control communities who have extensive expertise on all aspects of the treaty and its implementation.

Unfortunately, none of these obvious steps was taken. Instead, an opaque process involving limited consultations with the Pentagon simply resulted in a regurgitation of the Bush Administration’s talking points.

That is not what we expected from this Administration, and I welcome the announcement that a comprehensive review will be carried out.

The United States has not exported anti-personnel mines since 1992.

We have not produced anti-personnel mines since 1997.

And the United States has not used anti-personnel mines since 1991 – when many of them malfunctioned.

In effect, we have been in de facto compliance with the treaty for 18 years, with the exception of not yet destroying our stockpile of mines.

And in the interim we have invested millions of dollars to develop alternatives to indiscriminate landmines, to replace them with munitions that include man-in-the-loop technology, so they are not victim-activated.

Indiscriminate landmines, whether they are persistent mines or those that are designed to self-destruct or deactivate, are nothing more than booby traps. They cannot distinguish between an enemy combatant, a U.S. soldier, a young child, or a woman out collecting firewood. They do not belong in the arsenal of any modern military.

I have supported President Obama and I look forward to supporting him on many issues in the future. I hope this is can be one of those issues.

I am confident that if a proper review is conducted, and the President considers the equities, he will conclude, as our allies have, that the humanitarian benefits of banning anti-personnel landmines far exceed their limited military utility. Ultimately, this is a decision President Obama will need to make himself, just as President Wilson did almost a century ago.

I want to commend the Government of Colombia, a country where landmines have taken and continue to take a terrible toll on civilians, for hosting the review conference. Colombia joined the treaty years ago.

I also appreciate that the State Department has sent a team of observers to Cartagena. I hope they use this opportunity not only to highlight the hundreds of millions of dollars the U.S. has provided for humanitarian demining and assistance for mine victims over the years, but also to learn from the delegations of countries that are parties to the treaty.

I want to pay tribute to the leadership of Canada, and my friend Lloyd Axworthy, who as Foreign Minister showed the extraordinary vision and leadership that culminated in the Mine Ban Treaty, and to the other nations that have joined since then.

The treaty has already exceeded the expectations of even its strongest advocates. The number of mine casualties has decreased significantly. The number of countries producing and exporting mines has plummeted.

And at the same time, none of the arguments of the treaty’s naysayers have come to pass.

The United States is the most powerful nation on earth. We don’t need these indiscriminate weapons any more than our allies who have abandoned them.

We have not used landmines for many years. We should be leading this effort, not sitting on the sidelines.

It is time for the United States to join the right side of history.