Kate Boyer

In 1964-1973 the U.S. dropped 270 million cluster bombs on the country of Laos, 80 million of them failed to detonate. Over 40 years later, these bombs are still a problem.
Since the Vietnam war ended, 20,000 Laos citizens have been killed or injured. The bombs are "'tennis ball sized weapons,'" and are easily mistaken for toys. Children pick them up and start playing with them, not knowing what they really are, the bombs will go off and then leave a big mess. The bombs lay across fields all over the country, they have never been disturbed which means they are still active. The country relies on agriculture to support them, but with the bombs in the fields, the farmers cannot farm. This, in turn, has created an even bigger problem   malnutrition.
The removal of these bombs is extremely expensive and the citizens of Laos are holding the united States accountable for covering the expenses for the removal of the bombs. I think it is the respectful thing to do, and I think it is the perfect time to help the country. I do not, however, think the U.S. should pay for everything. After all, it was a war. Germany was not expected to clean up all the concentration camps after WWII. Other countries did that and Germany pitched in very little. The U.S. should be helping clean up the mess, not doing it all alone.


http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/05/asia/united-states-laos-secret-war/index.html