October 10, 1997 Web posted at: 9:37 p.m. EDT (0137 GMT) WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Clinton administration says the  award of the Nobel Peace Prize to an anti-land mine organization does not change the argument that high-tech "smart mines" will be needed for at least a few more years to protect U.S. troops.

"The president is absolutely rock-solid confident that he's got the right approach," said White House spokesman Mike McCurry. McCurry said the United States favors eliminating land mines, which kill or maim an estimated 26,000 people a year. But it wants leeway for using land mines in Korea until  an alternative weapon can be developed. Jody Williams, who received the Peace Prize along with her group  International Campaign to Ban Landmines, is critical of the president's position.  "I will ask him to reconsider his policy and explain it to me, 'cause I  sure don't understand it," she said. "He has abdicated his role as commander-in-chief and  let the military set foreign policy.  "I've repeatedly said that Bill Clinton is neither a leader nor a statesman and I'll say it again," Williams said. "I hope this prize will help change his mind."  But the Pentagon insists that it is not part of the land mine problem,and that beginning in 1992 it voluntarily eliminated from its arsenal the kind of mines that maim and kill innocent civilians. "We no longer deploy those land mines," said Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon. "We no longer make them, and we no longer export land mines of any sort."  Russia to sign treaty  Nevertheless, the administration's position has isolated the United States from the rest of the world community.  About 100 nations are expected to sign a treaty in December that calls for an immediate and total ban on the export and use of anti-personnel land mines. Russia, which did not taken part in the negotiations, announced Friday that it, too,  would sign the treaty.  James Rubin, another Pentagon spokesman, welcomed Russian President Boris Yeltsin's decision, saying that the problem with the treaty is that it does not include  the biggest exporters of land mines,especially Russia and China. The Clinton administration is particularly concerned about China,which is the world's leading maker and exporter of land mines. China did not take part in the treaty talks, either. Meanwhile, U.S. commanders say they need so-called "smart mines" to protect troops in battle and special forces on commando missions. "Smart mines" are those which automatically de-activate after days or even hours -- and which the Pentagon claims have never harmed a civilian. "They lay on the ground in plain view, and they really buy us some  time," says Army Brig. Gen. Larry Dodgen. "They buy us some time to eliminate the possibility of surprise to U.S. forces on the battlefield, and also to push the enemy in a certain direction that we want him to go in order to defeat him properly."                         Land mines in Korea 'no real defense'

The Pentagon says that in South           Korea, where about 37,000            American troops are stationed,  secured and marked mine fields near the demilitarized zone form a  key part of the strategy for keeping  North Korea's million-man army at  bay.  The Pentagon estimates it force  would suffer 30 percent higher  casualties in a war on the Korean  peninsula without the land mine   barrier.  But critics don't buy it. http://www.mindmined.com/public- library/land-mines.html

Click Book to go to webpage

http://ww2.pstripes.osd.mil/01/apr01/ed041301g.html  Friday, April 13, 2001   For some in Bosnia, springtime  means time to find, clear land mines  By Adam Ramirez, Bosnia bureau   GRADACAC, Bosnia and   Herzegovina — Spring represents  renewal, freshness and optimism for most people.  But for those working in the fields of Bosnia, breaking the  soil in the  seasonal ritual is a hazardous  undertaking. That’s because the painstaking de-mining season starts  anew in April, and the harvest in the  months to come looks too plentiful.  With more than 1 million mines  still in the ground —  some estimates  put that number much higher —   Bosnia leads  the world in the number  of mines per  square mile. Only about 16 miles of the estimated 248,000 square miles where mines were laid  during the war have been cleared  since 1998. At that rate, American officials   project that the work won’t  be done for another 66 years — or about in 2067.