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(Host) Senator Patrick Leahy did something on Tuesday that he's rarely done in the past year. He strongly criticized an Obama administration policy.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Leahy said he's disappointed that the administration has decided not to join an international treaty to ban the use of land mines.
For almost 20 years, Leahy has worked to ban the mines. He says he thought the Obama administration would reverse the policies of the Bush administration.
(Leahy) "I think the Obama administration has made a dramatic mistake in this area in land mines. This is not what we expected from this administration. It is not what I expected in my conversations with the president."
(Host) Leahy says he hopes to persuade the president to change his position.
(Leahy) "The United States is the most powerful nation on Earth. We do not need these indiscriminate weapons any more than our allies, who have abandoned them. We've not used land mines for many years. We should be leading this effort, not sitting on the sidelines. It's time for the United States and the Obama administration to join the right side of history."
(Host) More than 150 countries are expected to sign a new treaty banning the use of landmines at a special conference this weekend in Colombia.
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