The Latest: Obama says Laos living in ‘shadow of war’
VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — The Latest on President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Laos (all times local):
10:55 a.m.
President Barack Obama says Laotians have been living under the “shadow of war” for four decades.
Obama is touring a rehabilitation center in Laos that treats victims of bombs the U.S. dropped during the Vietnam War. Obama says the U.S. dropped some 270 million cluster bombs, including 80 million that never exploded and remain a threat.
He says the war wasn’t contained to the battlefield because the bombs have killed farmers and of children who thought they could be toys.
The president says the U.S. has a profound moral obligation to help clean up the unexploded bombs. He’s touting $90 million the U.S. will spend over three years to aid the clean-up effort.
Obama is also telling the survivor of one of the bombs that he’s inspired by him.
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10:45 a.m.
President Barack Obama is touring a rehabilitation center in Laos that treats survivors of bombs the U.S. dropped on the country during the Vietnam War.
Obama’s visit to Laos is the first by a sitting U.S. president. He’s touring the U.S.-funded Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise center in the capital, Vientiane.
Obama plans to meet with injured survivors and be briefed by center officials.
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. dropped hundreds of millions of tons of explosives, including 80 million bombs that never exploded. Obama has announced the U.S. is roughly doubling financial help for bomb-clearing efforts to about $90 million over three years.
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