U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines E-mail Newsletter
June 12, 2001

In this edition. . .

Action Alert: Make the Military Argument!
We Need Information on Your Local Campaign
Spotlight on Paul McCartney and Heather Mills
Recent civilian landmine casualties

ACTION ALERT: MAKE THE MILITARY ARGUMENT!
Recently, 8 senior, high-ranking, retired U.S. Generals, including those who commanded in Korea, signed and sent a letter to President Bush urging him to join the Mine Ban Treaty. This letter gives compelling military reasons for U.S. treaty accession. We encourage you to write letters to the editor and letters to your legislators and refer to this letter (see www.banminesusa.org for an update on the Landmine Elimination and Victim Assistance Act of 2001 and how to urge your legislators to cosponsor). If you are not a military expert, ask your policy-makers to listen to those who are! Let us know what results from your outreach (write to landmines@fcnl.org). The letter is copied below.

May 19, 2001

George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Bush:
As retired senior officers and leaders in the U.S. armed forces, we are writing to express support for the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, a total prohibition on the stockpiling, transfer, production, and use of antipersonnel landmines (APM). It is our collective belief that the United States does not need to retain any APM, even in mixed systems with anti-tank mines. We feel strongly that it is in the best interests of the American soldier and our country that you "fast-track" U.S. accession to the Mine Ban Treaty. APM are outmoded weapons that have, time and again, proved to be a liability to our own troops. We believe that the military, diplomatic, and humanitarian advantages of speedy U.S. accession far outweigh the minimal military utility of these weapons.

Current policy, Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) 64, dictates that the U.S. will not join the Mine Ban Treaty before 2006, and even then depending on "suitable" new alternatives to APM having been found and fielded. Every NATO nation except the U.S. has embraced the Mine Ban Treaty. In doing so, our allies have demonstrated that they can accomplish their missions and protect their troops with weapons systems available now.

Your predecessor, former President Clinton, portrayed APM as critical to the defense of the Republic of Korea (ROK) from the constant and real threat of North Korean invasion. Several of us are former commanders of elements of I-Corps (USA/ROK group), and believe that APM are not in any way critical or decisive in maintaining the peninsula's security. In fact, freshly scattered mixed systems would slow a US and ROK counter-invasion by inhibiting the operational tempo of friendly armor and dismounted infantry units.

It is our understanding that the standing response plan to a North Korean attack does not call for these weapons to be used to counter an initial attack. Other, more effective and less inhibiting weapons, not newly laid APM or mixed systems, would be employed to halt the first waves of a North Korean advance into South Korea.

What's more, the previous Administration's "Korea Exception" wrongly implied U.S. responsibility for the landmines currently deployed in the military control zone south of the DMZ. Those mines are under the jurisdiction and control of the ROK; U.S. accession to the Mine Ban Treaty would not require their removal.

Our recommendation that you should send the treaty to the U.S. Senate for advice and consent is motivated by a deep concern for the welfare of the men and women of our armed services. As you know, Pentagon casualty reports from Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf attest to the tremendous toll that APM, many of them our own, have taken on our service men and women. Veterans across this country can testify to the devastating injuries this counterproductive weapon has inflicted on both U.S. servicemen and civilians in the countries where these weapons have been laid.

We would not be urging this course of action if we did not believe it would enhance our combat mobility and effectiveness and, most importantly, protect our nation's sons and daughters when we send them into harm's way. Today, Armed Forces Day, we urge you, Mr. President, to ensure that no more U.S. servicemen or civilians fall to U.S. mines. Joining the Mine Ban Treaty as soon as possible will help bring about this achievable reality. We know that the American people will support you in protecting those who defend us. We certainly will.

We look forward to hearing more about your position on the Mine Ban Treaty.
Respectfully,

Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll, USN-retiredFormer Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations

Lt. General Henry E. Emerson, USA-retiredFormer Commander of the XVIII Corps

Lt. General James F. Hollingsworth, USA-retiredFormer Commander of I-Corps (USA-ROK Group)

Lt. General Harold Moore, USA-retiredFormer Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Department of the Army and former commander of the Seventh Infantry Division, Korea

Lt. General Dave Palmer, USA-retiredFormer Superintendent of West Point

Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan, USN-retiredChairman, Military Advisory Committee

To Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities

Lt. General DeWitt C. Smith Jr., USA-retired

Lt. General Walter Ulmer, USA-retired

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WE NEED INFORMATION ON YOUR LOCAL CAMPAIGN
Note from USCBL intern Alison Cole:

Dear USCBL Member,
In order to more fully recognize the work that campaigners like you have done in your community, we are currently updating the USCBL website (www.banminesusa.org) to include information about what is going on within the state and local campaigns. By doing this, we hope to inspire people to get more involved with your local efforts, and generally keep everyone working on the campaign more informed about what is going on elsewhere in the country. In order to do this, we need your help. Please send us a paragraph or two about the campaign in your state or community (what you have accomplished, hope to accomplish, specific events coming up, etc). If available, we would also like a picture of some of the campaigners in your state and some articles from local newspapers that you've seen or generated on the issue (letters to the editor, news stories, etc). If possible, it would be great if you could send me this information within the next two weeks, so that I can get started on this project as soon as possible. Thanks again for you efforts in support of banning landmines.
Looking forward to hearing from you,

Alison Cole
USCBL Intern
care of Physicians for Human Rights/100 Boylston Street, Suite 702/Boston, MA 02116/ USA/(617)695-0041/ alison@phrusa.org
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SPOTLIGHT ON PAUL MCCARTNEY AND HEATHER MILLS
Just last week in London, the United Nations Association, former Beatle Sir Paul McCarntey, and his girlfriend Heather Mills, spotlighted and raised funds for Adopt-a-Minefield UK. This week, they will be doing the same for Adopt-a-Minefield USA at an event in Los Angeles. The United Nations Association's Adopt-a-Minefield program, a Steering Committee organization of the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines, raises much needed funds for mine clearance. Mills, who lost her leg in an road accident several years ago, frequently voices her empathy for amputee landmine survivors. In addition to mine clearance, Mills also supports efforts to provide prosthetic limbs to victims of war. The couple will be appearing on Larry King Live on CNN this Tuesday evening, June 12 at 9:00 p.m., eastern standard time (to be replayed at 12 and 3 a.m. e.s.t). They will be discussing their landmines concerns towards the end of the hour. For more information about the Adopt-a-Minefield program, you can visit www.landmines.org.
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RECENT CIVILIAN LANDMINE CASUALTIES
According to a June 2 AFP report, two Chechen civilians were killed when their car hit an antipersonnel mine outside of the village of Staryie Atagi. The male driver and his female passenger died instantly when the blast ripped through their vehicle 12 miles south of the Chechen capital Grozny.

According to a May 21 UK Daily Telegraph report, three immigrants were killed and another severely injured after straying into a minefield while trying to cross the Greek-Turkish border. The Greek border police found three of the men dead and rushed the fourth to a nearby hospital where he has been in serious condition. Greece has designated minefields along its northeastern border with Turkey, and dozens of immigrants have been killed and injured while attempting to cross the border.

According to a May 21 Reuters report, two people were injured in Sri Lanka after picking up an antipersonnel landmine. Trincomalee, 150 miles east of the capital Colombo, is part of Sri Lanka's northeastern war zone which is littered with mines and unexploded ordinance from 18 years of fighting between government troops and separatist Tamil Tiger guerillas.
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