The recent death of a South Korean soldier by a land mine shows that land mines hurt U.S. security as well as represent a humanitarian catastrophe.
If it had been an American who had died from the land mine, it would have been interesting to note how quickly it would have become front-page news instead of being relegated to inside pages. How many innocent people must be killed by land mines before the U.S. changes its tune?
Until we take steps to ban mines that indiscriminately kill, our fight on behalf of democracy is a sham. What kind of freedom do people have when the war is over and they have a new “democratic regime” in place, yet they can’t walk outside their front door for fear of losing a leg, an arm or even their life? Land mines are not a necessity for U.S. defense, and our hypocrisy is disgusting.
