Obama Waives Bush 2008 Law Banning Child Soldiers.

Run_to_da_hills

This is something that you may not find so easy in Mainstream Media however if you look between the lines you will find it.

Only last December the UK Independent ran a campaign to expose the problem and help child soldiers in the Central African Republic. There are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers in at least twenty countries in the world today. As well as being forced to fight, children are used as spies, couriers, cooks and cleaners. Girls are often forced into sexual slavery

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/ten-facts-about-child-soldiers-that-everyone-should-know-8427617.html

On October 3, 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law “Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008,” a law that made it a federal crime to recruit or use soldiers under the age of 15. The law also gave the United States authority to “prosecute, deport or deny entry to individuals who have knowingly recruited children as soldiers.”

The bipartisan law, which was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress, drew the applause of several international human rights organizations:

“The US is saying to the world that using child soldiers is a serious crime and that it will take action,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocate for Human Rights Watch. “Military commanders who use children can no longer come to the United States without the risk of ending up in jail.”

Sunday afternoon, President Obama signed a Presidential memorandum, stating the following:

“I hereby determine that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive the application of the prohibition in section 404(a) of the CSPA [Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008] with respect to Libya, South Sudan, and Yemen… and the issuance of licenses for direct commercial sales of U.S. origin defense articles; and I hereby waive such provisions accordingly.”

Section 404(a) deals with exporting arms to countries that allow child-soldiers.

With the stroke of a pen, President Obama did two very frightening things:

1. He authorized the United States to sell military weaponry to the nations of Libya, South Sudan, Yemen and Congo.

At a time with such unrest in the world, there is now a very significant chance that American weaponry will soon be delivered to a Yemen and Libyan port.

2. President Obama has undone much of the progress made in the fight against child-soldiers won over the past decade.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/28/presidential-memorandum-presidential-determination-respect-child-soldier

http://www.mnnonline.org/article/18196

Overheal

He's lifted it for 4 countries. Not a move I agree with at all, but it hasn't undone the acts total significance.

Don't, however, expect this to be superseded by House or Senate: we lower the costs of military industry when we sell our "defense articles" to overseas buyers, which is why you see so many forces around the world flying the F-16, in just a lone example.

323

Not very impressed with this, or even a little bit surprised to be honest.

But as for below.

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

With the stroke of a pen, President Obama did two very frightening things:

1. He authorized the United States to sell military weaponry to the nations of Libya, South Sudan, Yemen and Congo.

At a time with such unrest in the world, there is now a very significant chance that American weaponry will soon be delivered to a Yemen and Libyan port.

US weapons industry has been selling to Libya for years, ship loads going in through Tunisia, then by road down to Libya, dogs in the street are aware of it there.
Guess the same with the other countries mentioned, lots of US made arms visible in Congo.
This will just cut down on the logistics costs for the US arms industries, be able to compete better and take a bigger market share.

Quid pro quo - Time for Obama to cough up for all that election campaign funding.

And Bush was labelled as a war monger?