Bomber and Roy, an Australian story about helping remove land mines

Discussion in 'World Events' started by cosmictraveler, Jun 3, 2011.

  1. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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  3. Echo3Romeo One man wolfpack Registered Senior Member

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    That's a pretty goddamned ballsy way to disarm those things. Stumbling across some random UXO on the battlefield is a good way to retract your nuts up into your chest.


    Landmines (including AP mines) have some legit uses so banning them wholesale doesn't make a lot of sense. The problem isn't how they work so much as how they're used and left lying around, and this applies to explosive ordnance more generally. Banning certain types of weapons is a way to act like you're doing something about the problem without actually spending any money on it, and the results are about what you'd expect - countries that weren't using landmines to begin with will sign up and pat themselves on the back, but everyone else will opt out.

    I'd rather see more resources put into sending EOD teams to places littered with abandoned UXO. It would be a more serious way to address the problem and with better results for the people that have to live there. I think there's more of a case for banning older mines that don't automatically disarm after a set period, but again, this only appeals to countries who can afford the more expensive smart mines.
     
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2011
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  5. Skeptical Registered Senior Member

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    Landmines are illegal by most civilised nations. There is a United Nations resolution to that effect. Some less civilised countries, like the USA, have refused that ratify that decision.
     
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  7. Echo3Romeo One man wolfpack Registered Senior Member

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    No. Antipersonnel (AP) landmines are the only type being regulated or banned.


    Only because its drafters refused to add an exception for the Korean DMZ, which the US has an obligation to provide security for under the UN mission. There's a protocol to the CCW that restricts the use of AP mines to visibly marked locations, bans stealth mines, has requirements for record keeping of mined positions, allows for the use of smart mines, etc. The US signed that one instead.
     

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