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August 3, 2001
Now that anti-personnel land mines are illegal in most nations, many armed forces are beginning to operate like they won't have to deal with mines any more. At the moment, this is more of a psychological attitude. "Out of sight, out of mind." Anti-vehicle mines remain legal, and remain a recognized threat. But mine clearing gear for anti-vehicle mines won't always work for anti-personnel mines. Already, nations are cutting back on mine clearing gear and training for their troops. This is made easier by the increasing use of civilian mine clearing firms for removing all the mines left behind by the wars of the last few decades. It's preferable to use civilians to lift old mines, as this does not get any of your troops killed. This is popular with the voters, as well as the troops. Unfortunately, the bad guys will use mines in future wars. Soldiers not ready to clear such mines will have to avoid the mined areas, which, ironically, was the original intention of land mines. Another large war, and extensive use of anti-personnel mines, will cause a lot of avoidable mine casualties and the return of energetic attention to mine clearing.
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