Ten Years Later, The U.S. Is No Closer to Mine Ban

On May 16, 1996, President Clinton committed the United States to "aggressively pursue an international agreement to ban the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines." Many people concerned with the humanitarian effects of antipersonnel mines thought after the May 1996 announcement that the U.S. was on the road to banning anti-personnel landmines. Unfortunately, President Clinton back stepped and refused to join with the majority of the world’s nations in signing the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty. Ten years later, the Pentagon still holds a stockpile of over 10 million antipersonnel mines, reserves the right to use these weapons anywhere in the world, and may be soon moving toward producing new antipersonnel landmines.

President Bush’s landmine policy represents a further step away from banning the pernicious and hidden weapons that kill tens of thousands each year. In 2004, the Bush administration announced that it would not join the Ottawa Treaty because "its terms would have required us to give up a needed military capability." The U.S. thus became the first country to state that it will never join the Mine Ban Treaty.

In addition to the call for an international agreement, President Clinton’s 1996 policy directed the Secretary of Defense to undertake a research program aimed at finding alternatives to antipersonnel mines in order to end reliance on these weapons as soon as possible. Proposals for alternative weapons were supposed to be completed by 2006. While the Bush administration abandoned this earlier commitment to eventually eliminate use of antipersonnel mines, it continued the research and development program searching for alternatives to "conventional" antipersonnel landmines. The Pentagon has spent more than $320 million on the research program since 1997.

Growing out of this decade-long research program, the Pentagon is beginning to propose the development of new types of mines. According to budget documents submitted to Congress in 2005, it is preparing to begin production of a new landmine called "Spider." While Congress delayed a final decision on whether to move forward with development of Spider due to concerns over the weapon’s indiscriminate effects, there is no indication that the Bush administration will stop its drive to produce Spider.

To learn more about Spider and Congress’ decision to delay production go to : http://www.banminesusa.org/news/883_spyder.htm .

Civil society has played a critical role in securing the international ban on antipersonnel mines and it is essential that people in the United States stand up and act to retain the movement’s successes. We must not let the U.S. move further away from President Clinton’s commitment 10 years ago.

TAKE ACTION TODAY: Congress can take the next step and require that new victim-activated mines, which injure soldiers and children with impunity, not be produced. Mark this day by telling your senators you are disappointed that the U.S. is contemplating new production of landmines.

Send your message to your senators by clicking here: http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8951251 . Tell them that the vision of a world free of the scourge of landmines will remain out of reach as long as the U.S. continues to reserve the right to produce these indiscriminate weapons.