President Obama promises $90 million to help Laos with unexploded U.S. bombs

(Image credit: Getty Images)

last updated 6 September 2016

President Obama on Tuesday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the landlocked nation of Laos, where he referred to the United States' secret bombing of the nation during the Vietnam War in the 1960s and '70s. "Given our history here, I believe that the United States has a moral obligation to help Laos heal," he said.

The U.S. dropped over two million tons of bombs on the country during the war, making Laos the most heavily-bombed nation in human history. An estimated 30 percent of the explosives dropped remained un-detonated, and they continue to kill Laotians to this day; Obama vowed $90 million to remove such unexploded weapons in the next three years.

Obama had also been set to meet with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the Southeast Asian summit, the gathering of regional leaders that opened Tuesday, but Obama canceled the meeting early Tuesday after Duterte used profane language to refer to Obama and express that he was not an "American puppet."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.