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RayGreen
MissStone
English1010Period3
10December2015
Landmines

Onaverage,onedisposalexpertiskilled,andtwoinjured,forevery5,000mines
thatarecleared(
Faulkner
).Withstatisticslikethesegainingpublicattention,many
peoplearedebatingwhetherornotlandminesareworththeirpotentialproblems.The
peoplefromTheInternationalCampaigntoBanLandmineswontheNobelPeacePrize
in1997fortheireffortsinbringingawarenesstopeoplearoundtheworldofthis
controversialissue.
Ichosethistopictowriteapaperon,becauseTheInternationalCampaignto
BanLandminescanonlybringinformationtosomanypeople.Thistopicneedsothers
tobediscussingit.Thispaperwillattempttoexplainthecontroversybehindlandmines
andgivethegeneralpublicenoughinformationtomaketheirowndecisiononhow
landminesshouldbedealtwith.
MineshavebeenusedinwarssinceWWII.Theyareapartofmilitarywar
strategybecausetheyprovidehiddendefense.However,somepeoplearestartingto
questiontheirusefulnessbecausetheyhavesomefallbacks.In
ManVersusMine
,
RobertBrycereports,DuringWorldWarIIthreepercentofU.S.combatdeathswere
causedbyminesorboobytraps.InKoreathatfigurewasfourpercent.By1967,during
theVietnamWar,itwasninepercent...FromJunetoNovemberof2005,lEDs

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[improvisedexplosivedevices]wereresponsiblefor65percentofAmericancombat
deathsandroughlyhalfofallnonfatalinjuries.Thisexemplifieshowlandmineusehas
evolvedovertheyearstobecominganecessitybecauseithasgrownmoreeffectivein
terminatingtheenemy.
Peoplewhowanttocontinuethecurrentuseoflandmineswouldarguethatthey
arecheap,effective,anddon'tjeopardizethelivesoffriendlytroops.
Faulknersays
landminescanbemanufacturedforaslittleas$3perbomb.
Ratherthancontinuously
payingsoldiersandputtingtheirlivesindangerbyaskinghimtoguardAreaX,why
notuselandminesinstead?Usinglandminesis,alegitimateaiminwarfare,when
militarypersonnelarespreadtoothinlytoprotectallpocketsofcivilians(
Deane
).
Besides,landminescanbe
massproduced,whereasmilitarypersonnelhavetobe
trainedonhowtodefendanareaandthenpaidcontinuouslytodoit.
Notonlyarelandminescheaper,theygivethearmyastrategicaladvantage.If
thebombsareplacedright,theywillcausetheenemytochangetheirplannedattack
routeandgotoacertainterritorywhichwillallowforaneasierwin.Thischangeof
directioniscausedbyafewlandminesexplodingandkillingorinjuringsoldiers.The
antipersonnelminesareintendedtoinjureratherthantokill.Thisisbecauseaninjured
soldierrequiresmoreattentionthanadeadone.Withaninjuredsoldier,medicsare
requiredtohelpthemrecoverandpotentiallysavetheirlife.Italsorequirespeopleto
takecareofthemwhiletheyrecover.Thesewoundedtroopscouldpotentiallybeputout
ofcommisionfortherestoftheirlives.Thisisexactlywhatthosewholaidthosemines

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want.Bysettingthosemines,theyloweredthenumberofenemytroopstheyhaveto
fightagainst.
Thosewhoinsistthatlandminesarenotworthkeepinginthemilitary'srepertoire
saythatthefactsthattheykillinnocentcivilians,friendlysoldiers,animals,andmake
thelandunusableoutweighanypossiblepositiveoutcome.Oneofthebiggestreasons
forthesefatalitiesandinjuriesarethedumbbombs.Dumbbombsarelandminesthat
arealwaysdangerousoncetheyareplanted.Theyneverdeactivate.Theysimply
explodewhenthereisatleastacertainamountofweightontopofthem.Thisisan
issuebecause,afterawarisover,andciviliansarenolongerasafraidtoleavetheir
homes,theygoabouttheirnormalroutinewhichtakesthemrightthroughaminefield.
Theminesdonthavetechnologytotellwhattheweightontopofthemisfrom.They
havesimplybeenprogramedtodetonatewhenthereis13lbs.ormoreweightonthem.
Thus,acivilian,friendlysoldier,oranimalwhomeetsorexceedstheweightlimit,is
goingtosuffersomeinjuriesandpossiblyevendeath.
Anotherdisadvantagetousinglandminesisthattheyinterrupttheflowofdaily
life.Iflandminesareplacedinanareathatistypicallyusedasawatersource,mining
area,farmingarea,oramarketplace,thepeoplecan'tgothereanymoreunlessthey
wanttochancegettingseriouslyinjured.Thiswillwreakhavoconthecitizenslives.It
willcausethemtofindotherplacesforthosesamethingsandoftentimesatagreat
disadvantages.Thehelpthatsomeclaimlandminesare,don'toutweighthemiserable
aftermath.

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Ontheotherhand,Ibelievethatlandminescanbeahugeassettoourtroopsin
battle.
However,Ialsobelievethatthereshouldbesomestipulationsputonusingthem.
Whenweplantlandmines,weneedtomakeanextremelydetailedmapofwherethey
are.Oncethewarends,theyneedtobegiventominedisarmingexpertssothatthey
cangoremovealloftheremainingmines.
Theseeffortshowever,willnolongerbenecessaryoncesmartbombsarethe
onlykindofbombsbeingproduced.IfEngineersdesignthemtherightway,theycanall
bedeactivatedwiththepushofabuttonsothatwedon'thavetogooutandfindallof
thestillactivemines.
Defendinganareawiththesesmartbombsisacheaperalternativetohiringand
trainingasentrytoguardthesamearea.Atthemomentthough,therearealotofdumb
bombsalreadymanufactured.Ratherthanletthesegotowaste,evenifthegovernment
onlyallowssmartbombstobemadefromhereonout,theolddumbbombswillstillbe
useduntiltheyaregone.Hencethemapswillbeneededsothatwecandestroyallof
theminesafterthewarisovertoprotectotherlivesfrombeingruined.Thesesmart
bombsareabetterandsaferalternativethanhumanguardsbecausetheydon'triskthe
livesoffriendlytroopsinordertoprotectanarea.Theyalsowon'tcauseextra
casualtiesafterthewarisoverbecausetheyaredisarmed.
Usingthesesmartbombswillmakeourmilitaryhardertobeatbyfunneling
enemyforcestopositionswherewewantthemandslowingthemdown.In
Defending
Landmines,
JohnTroxellexplainsthatlandminesareacombatmultiplier,which
meansthattheymakebreachingourdefenseamuchmoreformidabletaskforthe

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enemy.Theymakethefightingmuchharderandmoreintense.In
ManVersusMine
,
BryceRobertillustratesjusthowmuchofadifferenceusinglandminescanmake.He
says,ThegrowinguseofIEDsisforcingAmerica'smilitarystrategiststorethink
centuriesofmilitarydoctrineholdingthatinwarfare,mobilityequalsdominance.In
short,thismeansthat50100yearsago,ifanarmywantedtowin,theyneededtobe
moremobilethantheirenemy.Inthepastfewdecadesthough,thisisntthecase
becauselandminesallowthemilitaryahugeadvantagewithouthavingtobemobile.
Thosewhowouldarguewithmypositionmayholdthatsmartbombsarent
guaranteedtodeactivate.Thereisachancethateventhoughtheyhavebeen
engineeredtodearmatacertaintime,theywon'tandthusleavealivebombinthe
ground.Thisistrue.Thereisnta100%guaranteethattheywillalwaysworklikethey
should.Butisthatreallyastrongenoughreasontokickthemoffofthelistofweapons
availabletouseinwar?Smartbombsareactuallyreallyreliable.Theyhavea
99.9994%reliabilityrate(Troxell).Gunshaveachanceofgoingoffwhentheyarent
supposedtoaswell.Doesthatmeanthatweshouldnotusegunsinwareitherbecause
theycouldaccidentallyhurtaninnocentcivilian?Ifwebanbothofthese,whatwillwe
fightourwarswith?Howwillweprotectourselves?Theansweriswewon't.Wewillbe
leftvulnerabletoattacks,andinsteadofworryingabouthowethicalsomethingis,we
willbefindingotherwaystoprotectourselves.Letsfaceit.Weneedlandmines.
Anotherflawtheymaythinktheydetectwithmyplanlieswiththemaps.Simply
becausetheyaretopsecretdoesnotinsurethattheywillbekeptawayfromtheenemy.
Iagreetoapoint.Iagreethattherewillstillbeapossibilityofthemgettingintothe

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wronghands,buthonestly,ifsomethingiskepttopsecret,howoftendoesthat
informationgetout?Notveryoften.Therehavebeenafewinstancesofclassified
documentsleakingoutintosociety,buttheyarerareenoughthatIthinkthefactthatthe
mapsareclassifiedwillkeepthemasecretforthemostpart.
Thesemapsarethesolutiontoanotherproblemantagonistsmayforeseeinmy
solution.Theymaymaintainthatbecausewehavedumbbombsthatwearestillgoing
touse,thereisapossibilityofmissingafewofthedumbmines.Thisseemssuchan
insignificantpointbecauseweshouldbeabletogetmostofthemout.Themapswilltell
uswheretoremovethebombs.Wealsohaveminedetectorswhichwillhelpaswell.
Evenifwemissafew,thatisbetterthanourcurrentsituationofnotknowingifafield
hasbeenminedandnotremovingany?
Thosewhostilldisagreewithmyproposedsolutionwillalsoarguethatthe
landminescanstillkillfriendlysoldiers.Thereisasimplesolutiontothisaswell.Aslong
asmilitaryleadersknowwherethelandminesareplaced,theycankeeptheirtroops
awayfromthoseareas.Theydon'thavetotellthemwhy,butsimplydirecttheircourse
aroundthedesignatedarea.
Thefinalflawtheymightseeinmyplanisthatciviliansandanimalscanstillget
hurtwhilethewarisinprogress.This,Idoagree,isoneofthemajordownsides.There
isntreallyanywayaroundthat.Wejusthavetobecarefulwhereweplacethemines.
Weshouldonlyputtheminareasthatwoulddirectlyaffecttheenemy.Weshouldnot
putthemwheretheyarelikelytobesteppedonbycivilians.Buthereiswheremilitary
strategycomesintoplay.Militarystrategistsbelievethatsomeoftheenemycanhideas

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civilians,andsoweshoulduselandminestokilltheenemyandasaterrorweapon.
Thisessayhowever,isntfocusedonhowtochangemilitarystrategyinthiswayandthe
reasonswhyweshoulddothat.So,thereisapossibilityofinnocentlivesbeingruined,
butaslongastheyareusedresponsibly,thisshouldntbeaproblem.
Astechnologyincreases,andourweaponsofwargetmoresophisticated,we
mayeventuallyturntosomethingentirelydifferentthanlandminesofanysort,butfor
now,thisisavitalissueinallcountriesoftheworld.Asonecansee,thereisnotany
supersimpleanswer,butifwewanttohelpothers,weneedtofindthebestsolution
thatwecan.Ifyouagreewithanyoftheviewpointsaddressedinthisessay,oryou
haveadifferentsolutiontothisproblem,thenshareitwithothers.Raiseawareness.
Hopefullybydoingso,wecanmakeabetterworldtoliveinforourselvesandothers.

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.
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Bryce,Robert."ManVersusMine."
Atlantic
297.1(2006):44.
Topicsearch
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2015.
Deane,Alexander."Landminesthebesthopeforpeace."
ContemporaryReview
286.1668(2005):14+.
OpposingViewpointsinContext
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"FactsAboutLandmines."CARE,16Oct.2003.Web.12Dec.2015.
Faulkner,Frank."Themostperniciousweapon:landmines."
ContemporaryReview
270.1574(1997):136+.
OpposingViewpointsinContext
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Troxell,John."DefendingLandMines."
TheWilsonQuarterly
24.2(2000):103.
OpposingViewpointsinContext
.Web.5Dec.2015.
Troxell,John."Landmines:WhytheKoreaExceptionShouldBetheRule."
PARAMETERS,USArmyWarCollegeQuarterlySpring2000
.2000.Web.17
Dec.2015.
"UnitedNationsDisarmamentLandmines."
UNNewsCenter
.UnitedNationsFor
DisarmamentAffairs.Web.5Dec.2015.