Obama doubles U.S. funding to address unexploded bombs, painful legacy of "Secret War" in Laos

The United States and Laos have agreed to a new comprehensive partnership as U.S. President Barack Obama committed here Tuesday in a speech to doubling assistance to efforts to help survey and remove tens of millions of unexploded bombs and explosive ordnance (UXO).

The announcement to increase funding to 90 million U.S. dollars over three years to remove the danger of UXO was made in a speech delivered by Obama to an audience in Vientiane's National Culture Hall during his visit, the first by a U.S. president to the Southeast Asian country.

Laos bore the brunt of U.S bombing raids in the so-called "Secret War" during the period of 1964-1973 which saw some 2.5 million tonnes of ordnance dropped on Laos during military intervention in the landlocked country, Obama said.

Obama said the United States had a moral obligation to assist in safely removing the threat of UXO, a "painful legacy of war" that continued to shatter lives in Laos.

"Many of the bombs that were dropped never exploded," Obama said.

He also expressed thanks to the government of Laos for its contribution to efforts to repatriate the remains of U.S. service personnel declared missing in action over several years. Endit