This is, of course, only one of countless scenarios which are the product of landmine-based negligence and which can have deadly consequences. Unfortunately, today the world's largest military power also remains the most immovable object standing between the global community and a worldwide ban on the use of landmines or comparable explosive devices. In addition to its continued experimentation with landmine technologies, the United States maintains stockpiles of landmines throughout the world and in many cases has detailed wartime strategies that employed landmines significantly in creating lines of defense. Certainly, this describes its situation in Korea. Here, Stohl (2000) reports, "sccording to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), the United States has an enormous stockpile of landmines in Korea, including 40,000 Air Force Gator Mines, 10,000 Army Volcano mines, a small number of man-portable Modular Pack Mine Systems (MOPMS), and 1.2 million M16 and M14 dumb mines. The ICBL reports that 'U.S. war plans call for the laying of approximately one million new dumb mines...
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That the U.S. continues to develop and hold military policies that prioritize this condemned weaponry is demonstrative of the serious obstacle that to the true and worldwide banning of landmines. Only when this nation becomes a partner in the detection and elimination of the deadly threat to innocent lives can it truly be eradicated.
Works Cited:
Hartenstein, M. (2010). Dozens of North Korean land mines wash ashore in South Korea, killing one man and injuring another. New York Daily News.
Human Rights Watch (HRW). (2010). U.S.: Now's the Time To Ban Landmines. HRW.org.
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). (2010). Introduction. ICBL.org.
Rutland Herald (RH). (2010). Banning Land Mines. Rutland Herarld.com.
Stohl, R. (2000). Landmines Remain Issue in Korea. The Defense Monitor, XXIX (5).
Vietnam Veterans of American Foundation (VVAF). (2002). U.S. Use of Landmines in Korea: Myths and Reality. Ban Mines USA.org.
