[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 152 (Tuesday, November 4, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      U.S. EXTENDS ITS LEADING EFFORT TO REMOVE WORLD'S LAND MINES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 4, 1997

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member commends to his colleagues the 
editorial which appeared in the Omaha World-Herald on November 4, 1997.

      U.S. Extends Its Leading Effort To Remove World's Land Mines

       The U.S. government has made a considerable effort to 
     prevent people around the world from being killed or injured 
     by antipersonnel mines. To the credit of the Clinton 
     administration, the United States is about to do more.
       President Clinton has announced a U.S.-led campaign to rid 
     the world of the devices in the next dozen years. Secretary 
     of State Madeleine Albright said the United States will 
     contribute $80 million this year to an international effort 
     to clean up minefields, double the U.S. contribution the 
     previous year.
       Some people might think a contradiction exists. The U.S. 
     government is the major holdout from a proposed treaty 
     banning mines. Clinton has said that the United States won't 
     sign unless the treaty is amended to allow continued use of 
     the devices along the U.S.-guarded demilitarized zone 
     separating North and South Korea. A committee that won the 
     Nobel Peace Prize for pushing for a global anti-mine treaty 
     has treated the Clinton policy--and the president himself--
     with scorn and contempt.
       The biggest problem with land mines has its roots in the 
     past, however, not in the future behavior of the United 
     States. An estimated 100 million of the explosive devices 
     remain in the ground in more than 60 countries, from Bosnia 
     to Angola and from El Salvador to Cambodia. Many of the mines 
     were planted in haste by guerrilla forces--people who neither 
     sign global treaties nor leave any record of where they lay 
     their mines.
       About 26,000 people are killed or injured by the devices 
     every year, many of them children at play. This is the 
     problem that the plan announced by Clinton and Ms. Albright 
     is designed to solve by 2010.
       American forces have already drastically curtailed their 
     use of land mines. Part of the reason is that U.S. mines 
     caused many U.S. casualties. The mines still in use are 
     mostly manufactured to lose their explosive force after a few 
     weeks. The locations are carefully recorded. The mines are 
     removed when no longer needed.
       As to U.S. reservations about the treaty: The situation on 
     the Korean peninsula has few parallels anywhere in the world. 
     A superpower that has been entrusted by peace-loving 
     nations--and is expected by them--to prevent war in Korea is 
     hardly going to add to the unmapped minefields that are 
     causing the 26,000 casualties a year. The United States isn't 
     out of line with its request to continue using land mines in 
     Korea if it signs the treaty.
       Indeed, treaties don't bind guerrilla forces. They are 
     often ignored by aggressors. A land mine treaty, even if 
     signed by the United States, would guarantee little in the 
     long run.
       On the other hand, an international cleanup of minefields 
     could do a lot to reduce mine-related casualties. The 
     campaign to find mined areas and remove the explosives safely 
     is a noble humanitarian effort. U.S. participation is well 
     worthwhile.

     

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