St. Paul, Minn. – Early Tuesday morning, as part of his visit to Laos, President Barack Obama pledged $90 million toward an effort to remove an estimated 80 million unexploded bombs the U.S. dropped in Laos between 1964-1973 during the “Secret War.” President Obama’s visit to Laos is the first of its kind by a sitting U.S. president.
State Rep. John Lesch (DFL – St. Paul) issued the following statement:
“I applaud President Obama for both shining a light upon the history of the Secret War, and for making an aggressive commitment of financial resources to start the process of eliminating leftover dangers from this bombing campaign, directed by our own CIA. While this concluded over 40 years ago, it’s unthinkable that such little progress has been made to help the wounds suffered by Laos and its citizens heal. This will certainly be a lengthy process, but I agree with the President that we have a moral obligation to assist in recovery, which will help strengthen our relationships with Southeast Asia.
“Minnesota has become home to many refugees from this conflict, and having many of them and their descendants as my friends and neighbors, I know how critical it is that we recognize the sacrifices they have made. While symbolic recognition – such as the recently erected Hmong-Lao Veterans Memorial on the State Capitol grounds – is important, actions like those announced by the President will go even further to help us all move forward, together.”
Rep. Lesch represents the Como Park, North End, East Side and Hamline-Midway neighborhoods in St. Paul at the Capitol, and serves as the chair of the St. Paul Legislative Delegation.