Land mines in Iraq

There are 25 million landmines in Iraq, in addition to another 25 million unexploded ordnance pieces (including cluster bombs).

Many Iraqi civilians have been killed or maimed by those mines.

Since 1980, Iraq has endured three major wars: the Iran-Iraq war from 1980-88, the first Gulf War in 1991 and the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. All have had a part in making Iraq one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.

Iraq is asking for aid of the order of billions of dollars to remove those landmines.

It shouldn't be too hard for the US to make available a few billion dollars out of the huge $1 trillion or so it spends on the military every year. That is, if Obama suddenly became a moral agent...