Key developments since May 2004: The US government spent a total of
US$109.3 million in fiscal year 2004 on humanitarian mine action programs in 31
countries; one-third of this total was allocated to mine action in Iraq. A
decision will be made in December 2005 whether the US will begin producing a new
antipersonnel mine called Spider. The Pentagon requested a total of $1.77
billion for research on and production of new landmine systems over the next
five years. The US banned the use of persistent, non-detectable landmines
on 3 January 2005. Landmines killed 13 and injured 34 US military
personnel in 2004 in Afghanistan and Iraq. Improvised explosive devices,
including those that function as antipersonnel mines, killed and injured
hundreds more.
Mine Ban Policy
The United States has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty. According to a
new US landmine policy released in February 2004, “The United States will
not join the Ottawa Convention because its terms would have required us to give
up a needed military capability.”[1]The policy also states, “Landmines still have a valid and essential
role protecting United States forces in military operations.... No other weapon
currently exists that provides all the capabilities provided by
landmines.”[2]
The new US policy reframes the focus from only antipersonnel mines to both
antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, and characterizes landmines according to
their active lifespan or persistence: “The United States has committed to
eliminate persistent landmines of all types from its
arsenal.”[3]The use of any
type of landmine, antipersonnel or antivehicle, that self-destructs and
self-deactivates is permitted indefinitely without any geographic restriction.
The use of non-self-destructing antipersonnel mines is permissible until 2010,
but only in Korea. The use of non-self-destructing antivehicle mines will be
allowed globally until 2010, but only after presidential
authorization.[4]The use of low
metal content (non-detectable), non-self-destructing landmines was banned on 3
January 2005.[5]
The landmine policy also committed the United States to seek a global ban on
the export of persistent landmines and to increase the State Department’s
mine action funding by 50 percent over fiscal year (FY) 2003 baseline levels to
$70 million a year. The US now expects to reach the $70 million target in FY
2006. (See below for more on the export ban and on mine action funding).
The US is one of the small number of nations that has abstained from voting
on every annual pro-Mine Ban Treaty UN General Assembly resolution since 1997,
including UNGA Resolution 59/84 on 3 December 2004.
The US did not attend the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in
Nairobi in November-December 2004. In a press release to announce that it would
not participate, the State Department said, “While the US is not a party
to the Convention and is not attending the conference, we share common cause
with all those who seek to protect innocent civilians from indiscriminately used
landmines.”[6]
A US representative attended the June 2005 Mine Ban Treaty intersessional
meetings in Geneva.[7]In a statement
to the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action
Technologies, the US said, “The United States is committed to reducing the
harm inflicted by persistent landmines that remain from past conflicts and that
continue to be misused in some parts of the world.... Later this year, the
accumulated total United States interagency contribution to humanitarian mine
action worldwide since 1993 will reach the $1 billion mark. We believe that
local capacity building and national ownership are key to the long-term success
of mine action programs.... [M]ine action should be responsive to and informed
by development priorities.... [M]any minefields are simply not worth the cost
of clearance. Clearing these minefields will kill more deminers and cost more
money than the cleared land will return.... Our support is designed to help
countries achieve a ‘mine-safe’ or ‘mine impact-free’
status, where resources are prioritized to meet the most pressing humanitarian
and economic concerns.”[8]
The US is a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and
ratified Amended Protocol II on 24 May 1999. It attended the Sixth Annual
Conference of States Parties in November 2004 and submitted an annual national
report, as required under Article 13, on 6 June 2005. In the work of the Group
of Governmental Experts since November 2002, the US has taken the lead in
promoting a new protocol on “mines other than antipersonnel mines”
(MOTAPM).
On 1 February 2005, the leadership of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines
(USCBL) changed hands as Physicians for Human Rights stepped down as national
coordinator, a position it held for five years, and the Friends Committee on
National Legislation took over. Human Rights Watch continued as chair of the
USCBL. On 30 November 2004, the USCBL hosted a media briefing during the First
Review Conference in which Human Rights Watch gave an assessment of the new US
landmine policy. The USCBL expressed its concern about the deployment of Matrix
mines to Iraq and the possible production of Spider antipersonnel mines.
Use
Landmine Monitor is unaware of any credible allegations that US forces have
used antipersonnel mines in combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq or elsewhere
in this reporting period (since May
2004).[9]The extent to which US
forces exercise jurisdiction or control of existing mined areas in Afghanistan,
Iraq or elsewhere is not known.
Matrix
According to a media report, in May 2005 the US Army began to deploy to Iraq
a new remote-controlled munition activation system called Matrix. A total of 25
Matrix systems were reportedly being sent to Iraq for use by units of the
Army’s Stryker Brigade.[10]It is not known if Matrix has been put to use in the field.
Matrix is a new system designed to allow an operator equipped with a laptop
computer to remotely detonate lethal and non-lethal Claymore mines by radio
signal from a distance. Matrix is an adaptation of the technology developed
under the Spider program (see below), in order to get it into the field rapidly.
Matrix relies on M18A1 Claymore mines along with a man-in-the-loop detonating
mechanism (command- detonated) and unknown types of sensors to detect
targets.[11]A US Army official
stated that Matrix relies on unspecified types of electro-optical and infrared
sensors to detect intrusion, and on visual target identification; no tripwires
are used.[12]According to a State
Department official, Matrix is a command and control system, and “not a
landmine.”[13]
In late February 2005, Human Rights Watch raised questions about the
potential harm these mines could pose to
civilians.[14]One question related
to how a soldier would be able to make a positive identification of his target
from great distances. A second question was whether civilians themselves
could inadvertently detonate the mines, rather than a soldier operating the
system. The original technology behind Matrix was designed with a feature,
sometimes called a “battlefield override switch,” that substituted
activation by a victim for detonation by command.
Production
The United States has not produced any type of antipersonnel mine since
1997. However, in August 2005, Human Rights Watch reported that the “Bush
Administration appears poised to resume the production of antipersonnel
mines.”[15]The new landmine
policy announced in February 2004 states, “The United States will continue
to develop non-persistent anti-personnel and anti-tank
landmines.”[16]According to
budget documents released in February 2005, the Pentagon is requesting $688
million for research on, and $1.08 billion for the production of, new landmine
systems between fiscal years 2006 and
2011.[17]
New US landmines will have a variety of ways of being initiated, both
command-detonation (that is, when a soldier decides when to explode the mine,
sometimes called “man-in-the-loop”) and traditional
victim-activation. US officials have noted that self-destruct features will
limit the time that these mines will be able to be in a victim-activated mode
and that enhancements to the current technology will continue to be researched
and developed.[18]Additionally,
“future tactical barriers may include a new generation of landmines or
alternative systems.”[19]
Spider Antipersonnel Mine
Spider is the result of the Non-Self-Destruct Alternative (NSD-A) program.
The Spider system consists of a control unit capable of monitoring up to 84
hand-emplaced unattended munitions that deploy a web of tripwires across an
area. Once an enemy touches a tripwire, a man-in-the-loop control system allows
the operator to activate either lethal or non-lethal
effects.[20]
Spider contains a “battlefield override” feature that removes
the man-in-the-loop and allows for activation by the target (or victim). In the
words of the Pentagon, “Other operating modes allow Spider munitions to
function autonomously without Man-in-the-Loop control (i.e. target activation),
if necessary, to respond to the combat environment; the operator can regain
control of the munitions at any
time.”[21]In an earlier
report to Congress, the Pentagon stated, “Target Activation is a software
feature that allows the man-in-the-loop to change the capability of a munition
from requiring action by an operator prior to being detonated, to a munition
that will be detonated by a target. The Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and
the Service Chiefs, using best military judgment, feel that the man-in-the-loop
system without this feature would be insufficient to meet tactical operational
conditions and electronic
countermeasures.”[22]This
feature makes the Spider system incompatible with the Mine Ban Treaty.
A decision whether to produce Spider will be taken in December 2005 and the
first units are scheduled to be produced in March 2007. The US Army spent $135
million between fiscal years 1999 and 2004 to develop Spider, and another $11
million has been requested to complete research and development. A total of
$390 million is budgeted to produce 1,620 Spider systems and 186,300
munitions.[23]Textron Systems
Corporation in Wilmington, Massachusetts, and Alliant Techsystems in Plymouth,
Minnesota, are jointly developing Spider. Day and Zimmerman in Parsons, Kansas,
and General Dynamics in Taunton, Massachusetts, are primary subcontractors.
Intelligent Munitions System
The Intelligent Munitions System (IMS) is a new program combining three
landmine alternatives programs—the Self Healing Minefield, Mixed Systems
Alternative and Antipersonnel Landmine-Alternative (APL-A) programs—into
one research and development program. A total of $172 million of research and
development funding was spent on those three programs between fiscal years 1999
and 2004.[24]
According to budget documentation, the IMS is “an integrated system of
effects (lethal, non-lethal, anti-vehicle, anti-personnel, demolitions),
software, sensors/seekers, and communications that may be emplaced by multiple
means and is capable of unattended employment for the detection, classification,
identification, tracking and engagement of selected targets.” The
Pentagon further states, “IMS utilizes sensors linked to effects and is
controlled over robust communications in either an autonomous mode or via
Man-in-the-Loop control.”[25]The terms “unattended employment” and “autonomous
mode” appear to be synonymous with victim-activation and, like Spider,
would make this system incompatible with the Mine Ban Treaty.
A total of $1.3 billion has been requested for IMS development and
production activities between fiscal years 2005 and 2011. General Dynamics
Advanced Information Systems in Bloomington, Minnesota, and Textron Systems
Corporation in Wilmington, Massachusetts, are developing IMS prototypes. The
decision to produce IMS is scheduled for 2008 and the first units produced in
2009.
Antivehicle and Claymore Mines
A total of 191,000 M87A1 Volcano antivehicle mines were produced in the
United States between 1996 and 2004.[26]An additional 2,000 canisters, each containing six antivehicle mines, are
currently being produced at the Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant in Texarkana,
Texas, which is a government-owned facility operated by the Day and Zimmerman
Company.[27]
In February 2004, the Pentagon requested $20.2 million to produce 40,000
M18A1E1 Claymore mines. Mohawk Electrical Systems, Inc, in Milford, Delaware,
is scheduled to produce the munitions between June 2005 and March
2006.[28]The M18A1E1 will
incorporate a new triggering system that does not rely on either the
victim-activated mechanical tripwire fuze or the command-detonated electrical
initiation provided with the M18A1. Instead, the Claymores will be command
detonated by a new generation of modernized demolition initiators that use
explosives to trigger the mine.[29]
Stockpiling
The US stockpiles 10.4 million antipersonnel mines and 7.5 million
antivehicle mines making it the world’s third largest landmines power
after China and Russia. The stockpile has 2.8 million non-self-destructing
landmines, including 1.16 million M-14 and M-16 antipersonnel mines, and about
403,000 Claymore mines. Mixed systems that contain both self-destructing
antipersonnel and antivehicle mines constitute only 11 percent of the overall
stockpile.
The 696,800 low metal content M14 antipersonnel mines remaining in the US
stockpile for potential use in Korea were made compliant with CCW Amended
Protocol II by the permanent attachment of metal
washers.[31]The US began to
destroy non-self-destructing antivehicle mines in 2004. A total of 77,171 M15
and M19 antivehicle mines were shipped to Iraq for use in the destruction of
captured ammunition.[32]
Transfer
US law has prohibited the export of antipersonnel mines since 23 October
1992. This moratorium has been extended several times, most recently until 23
October 2008. In a statement to the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in July
2004, the US announced its intent to pursue negotiations on an international ban
on the sale or export of non-self-destructing landmines in the
CD.[33]Within the context of this
goal, the Pentagon states, “Consistent with existing US obligations, it
will include appropriate exceptions for training personnel engaged in demining
or countermine operations.”[34]Canada noted that the 42 CD member states which are already part of the
Mine Ban Treaty “will not be in a position to enter negotiations on a
lesser ban, aimed at arresting trade in one category of antipersonnel mines
alone but implying the acceptability of trade in other categories of these
weapons.”[35]The CD has not
been able to agree on its agenda since 1997.
Mine Action Assistance
The United States remains the largest single donor country to humanitarian
mine action worldwide. The US government spent a total of $109.3 million in
fiscal year 2004 on humanitarian mine action programs in 31 countries, including
nearly $36 million provided for Iraq. This total represents an increase of
$16.1 million over the previous fiscal year, with the biggest change being
special funding allocated to mine action in Iraq.
The estimate for fiscal year 2005 mine action funding is $97.8 million.
State Department funding through Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and
Related programs, or NADR, is expected to increase by $10.3
million.[36]The landmine policy
announced in February 2004 pledged, “Funding for the State
Department’s portion of the US Humanitarian Mine Action Program will be
increased by an additional 50 percent over FY03 baseline levels to $70 million a
year.”[37]Compared to fiscal
year 2003, State Department funding decreased slightly to $48.7 million in FY
2004, and is expected to increase to $59 million in FY 2005, and to $72 million
in FY 2006.
Landmine Monitor Estimate of US Mine Action Funding, Fiscal Years 2002-2006 ($
millions)
While Landmine Monitor relies on official US sources for its mine action
figures, in some official publications and public remarks by officials, the US
government sometimes cites different figures for its mine action funding than
those presented by Landmine Monitor.[43]According to a US official in June 2005, the US has provided $1 billion in
mine action funding since fiscal year 1993. He said, “We remain committed
to generously funding humanitarian mine action in the years ahead and have
requested $82 million for the US Department of State's mine action programs in
fiscal year 2006, a 16% increase over the $68.9 million mine action budget in
fiscal year 2005. This is a realization of President Bush's commitment to
significantly increase the Department of State's mine action funding, a key
component of the United States landmine policy that was announced in February
2004.”[44]
Mine Action Assistance to Iraq
Iraq is the single largest recipient of US mine action assistance. More
than $70 million has been appropriated by the US Congress for mine action in
Iraq, which includes the destruction of captured or abandoned ammunition
stockpiles and the clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Of this
$70 million, a total of $48 million was allocated in fiscal years 2003 and
2004.[45]Most of this funding has
been used to support mine action capacities that existed in northern Iraq, and
to establish new centers in the south of the country. A total of $37 million
was spent to sustain 12-15 national and international mine clearance
organizations.[46]
The funding has also been used to help the Iraqi government to create a
national mine action authority, establish a national demining training facility
at Az Zubayr, train and equip personnel, draft national demining legislation,
and conduct a Landmine Impact Survey with the assistance of the Vietnam Veterans
of America Foundation.[47]
After the invasion, some of this funding also supported emergency mine and
UXO clearance, and to some extent, the destruction of abandoned and captured
ammunition stockpiles. The US reported that from its inception to July 2004,
the Iraqi Mine/UXO Clearance Organization (IMCO) cleared 1.5 million square
meters of land and destroyed 75,000 items of
UXO.[48]By October 2004, the
figures had increased to 7.4 million square meters of land cleared, 877,900 UXO
destroyed, and 223,000 tons of stockpiled munitions
destroyed.[49]
Mine Action Funding by Country, Fiscal Year
2004[50]
Afghanistan
12,518,000
Laos
1,412,000
Albania
1,750,000
Lebanon
2,055,444
Angola
5,300,000
Mozambique
1,492,000
Armenia
67,151
OAS
2,611,000
Azerbaijan
2,772,190
Oman
1,500
Bosnia & Herzegovina
3,000,000
Peru
9,699
Cambodia
3,552,455
Senegal
112,000
Chad
1,193,562
Serbia & Montenegro
1,021,000
Chile
11,629
Sri Lanka
1,775,000
Croatia
1,500,000
Sudan
2,858,000
Eritrea
1,452,000
Tajikistan
7,000
Georgia
1,504,000
Thailand
7,500
Iraq
35,800,000
Vietnam
2,714,000
Jordan
950,000
Yemen
826,517
In October 2005, a US State Department official provided Landmine Monitor
with a country-by-country breakdown of FY 2004 mine action funding that totaled
$117 million. It included significantly higher funding for a number of
countries than in the chart above: Afghanistan $34.87 million; Bosnia and
Herzegovina $3.6 million; Laos $1.9 million; Mozambique $4 million; Sri Lanka
$2.7 million; Vietnam $3.1 million. [51]The Landmine Monitor table relies on official reporting to Congress.
In addition to the direct assistance to the countries listed in the table
above, in FY 2004 an additional $8.3 million of State Department NADR and ITF
funding was allocated to multi-country or worldwide mine action initiatives.
The Centers for Disease Control also contributed $4.25 million of fiscal year
2004 funding for activities related to mine action in Afghanistan, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Jordan, Mozambique, Sri Lanka and
Vietnam.
During fiscal year 2004, the State Department’s humanitarian mine
action program awarded contracts and grants to private firms, NGOs and
international organizations. These projects involved 31 mine-affected
countries, 13 of which were in the “end state” stage, meaning that
the countries had established self-sustaining mine action programs requiring
minimal foreign aid. A review of the program described the number of end-state
countries as “significantly below target,” explaining the
shortcoming as a result of participation by only the most severely mine-affected
countries. In terms of progress on an international scale, NADR continued to
fund information exchanges and the US Department of State's Quick Reaction
Demining Force (QRDF) capable of responding to mine-related emergencies around
the world.[52]
The humanitarian mine action program of the Department of Defense continued
to address three main areas: building sustainability of the host
countries’ mine clearance efforts; providing training and equipment for
local demining teams; maximizing cooperation between various mine action
initiatives. The program funded activities in 11 countries. Others, including
Ecuador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Jordan, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Vietnam
and Zambia were considered as possible host nations for fiscal year 2004, but
adequate funds were not
available.[53]
The Defense Department’s humanitarian demining research and
development program is responsible for designing new mine clearance technologies
for specific mine-affected regions. In fiscal year 2004, three new demining
systems were put in use by US soldiers in Afghanistan, while various
technologies built to protect deminers and aid the detection, marking and
removal of landmines were sent to Honduras, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sri
Lanka, Djibouti and Georgia. There were also site assessments in 10 countries
and 31 prototype technology
demonstrations.[54]
In fiscal year 2004, the US contributed $9.9 million of the $25.1 million
spent by the International Trust Fund (ITF) for mine action programs in the
Balkans, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The US was the sole contributor to
both the South Eastern Europe Mine Action Coordination Council, responsible for
facilitating regional demining initiatives, and a project that provided
geographic imagery for regional mine action centers. Besides these two
initiatives, through matching funds, the US also helped fund a number of mine
survivor assistance programs, mine risk education and demining activities in
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia and
Montenegro.[55]
Public-Private Partnerships
Initiated by the US Department of State in late 1997, this program has
developed a network of public-private partnerships to bring new energy, ideas
and resources to the efforts to make the world safe from landmines, other types
of weapons, and remnants of war. The partnership program, which numbers over 50
participants, including US and foreign organizations, promotes the entire
spectrum of humanitarian mine action. Partners include civic associations,
charitable foundations, corporations, non-governmental and international
organizations, and educational groups from middle school through university
level.
In August 2004, the State Department’s Office of Weapons Removal and
Abatement, which administers the Public-Private Partnership program, said that
in the last five years, several hundred thousand US citizens have contributed
more than $14 million to mine action programs around the world, including
through partner organizations.[56]
In 2004, landmines in Iraq killed at least two US military personnel and
injured 18.[58]In Afghanistan, a
total of 11 military personnel were killed and 16 injured by landmines in
2004.[59]From January to August
2005, three US soldiers were killed and 15 injured by mines in Iraq, and five US
military personnel were killed and six injured in mine incidents in
Afghanistan.[60]In June 2004, two
US civilian truck drivers were killed in two separate landmine incidents in
Iraq.[61]
A significantly higher number of deaths and injuries to US military
personnel have been caused by opposition forces using improvised explosive
devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan. IED is the term used by the US military
to describe almost any explosive device encountered. IEDs can be
target-activated or command-detonated. US officials make no distinction between
the two variations when reporting
casualties.[62]In 2004, 246 US
soldiers died in IED-related incidents: eight in Afghanistan and 238 in
Iraq.[63]From January to August
2005, 233 US military personnel were killed by IEDs in Iraq and six were killed
by IEDs in Afghanistan.[64]
Survivor Assistance Funding
The primary vehicle for US government funding for landmine survivor
assistance is the Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund (LWVF), administered by the
US Agency for International Development (USAID). Expenditures for landmine
survivors are not separated out from those for war victims overall. LWVF
supports programs, primarily managed by NGOs, for the physical rehabilitation
and socioeconomic reintegration of those with landmine and other war-related
injuries.
Since 1989, LWVF has provided over $125 million in support for victims of
war in 30 countries. In fiscal year 2004, funding totaled $11.93 million, of
which $3.9 million was allocated to multi-country
programs.[65]The estimated budget
for fiscal year 2005 is $11 million.[66]Projects in the following countries received support from LWVF in fiscal
year 2004:
Leahy War Victims Fund, Allocations for Fiscal Year 2004 (US$)
Afghanistan
1,000,000
Liberia
173,000
Angola
800,000
OAS
1,000,000
Albania
340,000
Philippines
750,000
Cambodia
865,000
Sri Lanka
900,000
Laos
500,000
Vietnam
1,000,000
Lebanon
700,000
Funding for survivor assistance is also provided through the Slovenian
International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF). In
calendar year 2004, approximately $497,227 million of US Department of State
funding was spent on mine victim assistance programs in the Balkans via
ITF.[67]Approximately $1.5 million
was spent in calendar year 2003.[68]In fiscal year 2004, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) contributed
funding of $3.15 million to Landmine Survivors Network. This was the only
portion of CDC mine action funding allocated for victim/survivor
assistance.[69]
Landmine Monitor has identified at least 24 organizations in the United
States that fund or operated mine survivor assistance programs in mine-affected
countries in 2004: American Friends Service Committee, American Red Cross,
American Refugee Committee, Clear Path International, Center for International
Rehabilitation, Children of Armenia Fund, Grapes for Humanity, Health Volunteers
Oversees, International Institute for Prosthetic Rehabilitation of Landmine
Survivors, International Rescue Committee, Julia Burke Foundation, Kids First
Vietnam, Landmine Survivors Network, Medical Care Development International,
Peace Trees Viet Nam, People to People International, Polus Center for Social
and Economic Development, Project RENEW (Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund),
Prosthetics Outreach Foundation, Refugee Relief International, Save the
Children-USA, United Nations Foundation, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation
and World Rehabilitation Fund.
Some rely entirely on private charitable sources; however, most are using a
mix of private and public funds in their programs. Many are also associated
with the US Department of State’s Public-Private Partnership Program for
mine action. The biggest source of public funds is USAID through the LWVF.
[1]US Department of State, Bureau
of Political-Military Affairs, “Fact Sheet: New United States Policy on
Landmines,” 27 February 2004.
[2]US Department of State,
“Fact Sheet,” 27 February 2004.
[3]US Department of State,
“Fact Sheet,” 27 February 2004.
[4]US Department of State,
“Fact Sheet,” 27 February 2004.
[5]US Department of State, Office
of the Spokesman, “Media Note: United States Bans Non-Detectable
Landmines,” 3 January 2005.
[6]US Department of State, Office
of the Spokesman, “Press Statement: First Review Conference of the Ottawa
Convention in Nairobi,” 26 November 2004.
[7]The first time the US
participated in ban treaty-related intersessional Standing Committee meetings
was in June 2004.
[8]James Lawrence, Deputy
Director, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, Bureau of Political-Military
Affairs, US Department of State, “Reducing the Harm Inflicted by
Persistent Landmines,” Prepared Statement of the US at the Plenary of the
Intersessional Standing Committee Meeting of the Anti-Personnel Mine Treaty,
Geneva, 14 June 2005.
[9]The US apparently did not use
landmines in Yugoslavia (Kosovo) in 1999, or in Afghanistan since October 2001,
or in Iraq since March 2003. It reserved the right to use antipersonnel mines
during each of these conflicts, and deployed antipersonnel mines to the region,
at least in the cases of Kosovo and Iraq. The United States last used landmines
in 1991 in Kuwait and Iraq, scattering 117,634 of them, mostly from airplanes.
[10]Michael Peck, “Stryker
Brigade in Iraq Will Protect Bases with Remote-Controlled Mines,”
National Defense Magazine, March 2005.
[11]Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Briefing Paper, “Back in Business: US Landmine Production and
Exports,” August 2005. The current US policy regarding use of Claymore
mines with tripwires is unclear. Under the Clinton administration policy, and
according to existing Army field manuals, use of Claymores with tripwires is
restricted to Korea. However, Pentagon and State Department officials have not
responded to questions as to whether this continues to be the case under the new
landmine policy.
[12]Remarks by the US Army
Program Manager for Close Combat Systems, to Human Rights Watch, Geneva,
Switzerland, 7 March 2005. The Program Manager also confirmed that only
existing lethal and non-lethal Claymore mines are being used and no new
munitions are being deployed with Matrix.
[13]Open Letter to US Campaign
to Ban Landmines from Richard Kidd, Director, US Department of State, Bureau of
Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, 24 June
2005. The full quote reads: “Furthermore, neither the Matrix command and
control system (Matrix is not a landmine) nor the Spider
self-destructing/self-deactivating short-duration landmine contributes now, or
will contribute, to the global landmine problem.”
[14]HRW, “US: New
Landmines for Iraq Raise Fears of Civilian Risk,” Press Release, 28
February 2005.
[15]HRW, “US: Pentagon
Poised to Resume Production of Antipersonnel Mines,” Press Release, 3
August 2005; HRW Briefing Paper, “Back in Business: US Landmine Production
and Exports,” August 2005.
[16]US Department of State,
“Fact Sheet,” 27 February 2004.
[17]The totals for fiscal years
2005 to 2011 are compiled from: Office of the Secretary of the Army (Financial
Management and Comptroller), “Descriptive Summaries of the Research,
Development, Test and Evaluation Army Appropriation, Budget Activities 4 and
5,” February 2005, pp. 939-947, 957-962; Office of the Secretary of the
Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), “Committee Staff Procurement
Backup Book, FY 2006/2007 Budget Submission, Procurement of Ammunition,
Army,” February 2005, pp. 418-422, 425-428.
[18]US Department of State,
“Fact Sheet,” 27 February 2004.
[19]US Department of State,
“Fact Sheet,” 27 February 2004.
[20]Office of the Secretary of
the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), “Descriptive Summaries of
the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Army Appropriation, Budget
Activities 4 and 5,” February 2004, pp. 1096-1101; Office of the Secretary
of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), “Committee Staff
Procurement Backup Book, FY 2005 Budget Estimates, Procurement of Ammunition,
Army,” February 2004, pp. 406-411.
[21]Office of the Under
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, “Annual
Progress Report: US Department of Defense Removal and Destruction of Persistent
Landmines and Development of Landmine Alternatives,” December 2004, p.
7.
[22]Office of the Under
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, “Progress
on Landmine Alternatives, Report to Congress,” 1 April 2001, p. 11.
[23]Office of the Under
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, “Annual
Progress Report,” December 2004, p. 8.
[24]Office of the Secretary of
the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), “Descriptive Summaries of
the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Army Appropriation, Budget
Activities 4 and 5,” February 2005, pp. 939-947; Office of the Secretary
of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), “Committee Staff
Procurement Backup Book, FY 2006/2007 Budget Submission, Procurement of
Ammunition, Army,” February 2005, pp. 425-428.
[25]Office of the Under
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, “Annual
Progress Report,” December 2004, p. 8.
[26]Previously, Volcano was
produced only as a mixed system with both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines
packaged together.
[27]Department of the Army,
“Committee Staff Procurement Backup Book, FY 2005 Budget Estimates,
Procurement of Ammunition, Army,” February 2004, pp. 393-394.
[28]Office of the Secretary of
the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), “Committee Staff
Procurement Backup Book, FY 2005 Budget Estimates, Procurement of Ammunition,
Army,” February 2004, pp. 386-392. This procurement includes $16 million
in supplemental funding from the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations
Act, 2003.
[29]US Army Field Support
Command, “Sources Sought Amendment: M18A1 Claymore Antipersonnel Mine;
M18A1E1 Claymore Antipersonnel Mines, a Variant that uses a Non-Electrical
Initiation System; its Trainer (MM68E1); and the M5 Modular Crowd Control
Munition (MCCM),” 12 May 2004.
[30]Information provided by the
US Armed Services in the Spring/Summer of 2002 cited in US General Accounting
Office, “GAO-02-1003: MILITARY OPERATIONS: Information on US use of Land
Mines in the Persian Gulf War,” September 2002, Appendix I, pp. 39-43.
[31]United States of America,
Annual National Report for CCW Amended Protocol II, Form C, 27 November
2003.
[32]Office of the Under
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, “Annual
Progress Report,” December 2004, p. 6.
[33]UN Office in Geneva, Press
document, “Conference on Disarmament Hears Statement by United States on
Landmines and Fissile Material,” 29 July 2004.
[34]Office of the Under
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, “Annual
Progress Report,” December 2004, p. 4.
[35]Statement by Ambassador Paul
Meyer, Canada, to the Conference on Disarmament, 29 July 2004.
[36]Defense Security Cooperation
Agency, “Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid, Defense Fiscal
Year 2006/ Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Estimate,” February 2005.
[37]US Department of State,
“Fact Sheet,” 27 February 2004.
[38]US Department of State,
Bureau of Resource Management, “FY 2006 Congressional Budget Justification
for Foreign Operations,” 15 February 2005, pp. 154-158.
[39]Defense Security
Cooperation Agency, “Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid,
Defense Fiscal Year 2006/ Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Estimate,” February
2005.
[40]US Department of State,
Bureau of Resource Management, “FY 2006 Congressional Budget Justification
for Foreign Operations,” 15 February 2005, p.159
[41]Office of the Secretary of
Defense, “Research and Development Descriptive Summary, Humanitarian
Demining, PE: 0603920D8Z,” February 2005, p. 1.
[42]US Department of State,
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, “Section 2207 Report on Iraq Relief and
Reconstruction,” July 2005, pp. 20-21. The $9 million total for
FY2005 is from an email to Landmine Monitor (MAC) from H. Murphey McCloy, Senior
Demining Advisor, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of
State, 3 October 2005.
[43]There are a number of
reasons for this difference. One factor is the addition of significant amounts
of emergency wartime supplemental funding. Another factor is that mine action
assistance figures cited by Landmine Monitor do not include the annual funding
in the range of $11 million dedicated for war victims assistance programs, which
are accounted for separately in the survivor assistance section of this country
report. Additionally, Landmine Monitor’s knowledge is limited regarding
some programs within the US government, like those within USAID and the Centers
for Disease Control, that have some element of mine action included within a
larger international assistance program, but are not identified as such or do
not receive specific mine action appropriations.
[44]It would appear the funding
totals cited include both NADR and Slovenia's International Trust Fund for
Demining and Mine Victims Assistance. James Lawrence, Deputy Director of the
Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs,
US Department of State, “Reducing the Harm Inflicted by Persistent
Landmines,” Prepared Statement of the US at the Plenary of the
Intersessional Standing Committee Meeting of the Anti-Personnel Mine Treaty,
Geneva, 14 June 2005.
[45]The State Department
provides quarterly reports to Congress on expenditure of these funds. For the
period April to July 2005, the State Department reported
“accomplishments” with this funding totaling $1.17 million. US
Department of State, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, “Section 2207 Report
on Iraq Relief and Reconstruction,” July 2005, pp. 20-21.
[46]Executive Office of the
President, Office of Management and Budget, “Quarterly Report on Iraq
pursuant to Section 2207 of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for
Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, FY 2004 (Public Law
108-106),” 6 January 2004, Appendix I, p. 40.
[47]US Department of State,
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, “Section 2207 Report on Iraq Relief and
Reconstruction,” July 2005, pp. 20-21. The US has provided 39 to 45
technical advisors for mine action projects.
[48]Executive Office of the
President, Office of Management and Budget, “Quarterly Report on Iraq
pursuant to Section 2207 of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for
Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, FY 2004 (Public Law
108-106),” 2 July 2004, Appendix I, p. 19.
[49]US Department of State,
Bureau of Resource Management, “Section 2207 Report on Iraq Relief and
Reconstruction,” 5 October 2004, Appendix I, p.24.
[50]US Department of State,
Bureau of Resource Management, “FY 2006 Congressional Budget Justification
for Foreign Operations,” 15 February 2005, pp. 154-158; Defense Security
Cooperation Agency, “Humanitarian and Civic Assistance (HCA) and
Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) Programs of the Department of Defense: Fiscal
Year 2004,” February 2005, p. 6; US Department of State, Office of Weapons
Removal and Abatement, “Demining Program History,” provided to
Landmine Monitor by email on 20 July 2005.
[51]Email to Landmine Monitor
(MAC) from H. Murphey McCloy, US Department of State, 3 October 2005.
[52]US Department of State and
US Agency for International Development, “FY 2006 Performance
Summary,” 7 February 2005, pp. 259-261
[53]Defense Security Cooperation
Agency, “Humanitarian and Civic Assistance (HCA) and Humanitarian Mine
Action (HMA) Programs of the Department of Defense: Fiscal Year 2004,”
February 2005, p. 6.
[54]Office of the Secretary of
Defense, “Research and Development Descriptive Summary, Humanitarian
Demining, PE: 0603920D8Z,” February 2005, pp. 4-5.
[55]US Department of State,
Bureau of Resource Management, “FY 2006 Congressional Budget Justification
For Foreign Operations,” 15 February 2005, p.159; ITF, “Contribution
to the Landmine Monitor 2005,” by email from Iztok Hočevar, Head of
International Relations Department, 22 July 2005.
[56]Information provided to
Landmine Monitor by the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department
of State, 16 August 2004.
[57]US Department of Defense
(DoD) casualty reports do not usually distinguish between antipersonnel mine
casualties and antivehicle mine casualties, and it is not always possible to
determine this from media reports. Therefore, Landmine Monitor has not attempted
to provide a breakdown. It appears, however, that most incidents involve
antivehicle and not antipersonnel mines.
[58]Figures derived from an
examination of official Department of Defense casualty reports, posted on the
internet at www.defenselink.mil/releases/.
[59]DoD casualty reports;
“Schofield Soldier Given Purple Heart,” Hawaii Channel, 29
November, 2004; “Troops wounded in war start organization aimed at
improving lives,” Air Force Times, 9 December 2004.
[60]DoD casualty reports.
[61]“Civilian truck
drivers from Florida, Georgia, killed in Iraq,” Associated Press,
22 June 2004.
[62]See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1151, footnote 91. An IED that is
victim-activated—that explodes from the contact of a person—is
considered an antipersonnel mine and prohibited under the Mine Ban Treaty. An
IED that is command-detonated—where the user decides when to explode
it—is not prohibited by the treaty, but use of such devices has often been
in violation of international humanitarian law, as when civilians are directly
targeted.
[63]DoD casualty reports.
[64]DoD casualty reports;
“Primitive bombs in Iraq pose deadly threat,” Poughkeepsie
Journal, 6 May 2005; “Two US soldiers killed in Afghanistan
blast,” Agence France-Presse, 5 June 2005; “US Soldiers
Wounded; Troops Save Infant's Life,” Armed Forces Information Service
(Baghdad), 14 June 2005; “Amputees face the battle at home/ Veterans
help the newly injured fight depression,” Houston Chronicle, 26
June 2005; “Improvised Explosive Device Kills Soldier, Suicide Bomber Lone
Casualty in Failed Attack,” US Federal News Service (Washington),
26 June 2005.
[65]For more information, see
Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 1152-1153.
[66]USAID, Office of Democracy
and Governance, “Congressional Budget Justification FY 2005, Special
Programs to Address the Needs of Survivors,” 932-005, February 2004.
[67]Email from Natasa
Uršič, Geographical Information System Project Manager, 22 September
2005.
[68]See Landmine Monitor
Report 2004, p. 1153.
[69]Telephone interview with and
email from Michael Gerber, International Emergency and Refugee Health Branch,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 September 2005.
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