Antipersonnel Landmine Policy for the New Administration

Download or read book Antipersonnel Landmine Policy for the New Administration written by Fritz W. Kirklighter and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the face of severe criticism from most of the world's leaders, President Clinton on 17 September 1997 refused to sign the Ottawa treaty, declaring: 'As Commander-in-Chief, I will not send our soldiers to defend the freedom of our people and the freedom of others without doing everything we can to make them as secure as possible. There is a line I simply cannot cross, and that line is the safety and security of our men and women in uniform'. His own internal struggle with this issue was demonstrated during an interview weeks before President Clinton left office during which he said he 'bitterly regretted that the U.S. did not sign the land mine treaty in December 1997, and that it is one of his bitterest regrets of the last eight years'. The President of the United States is responsible for balancing the military needs and humanitarian concerns of the nation. Land mine policy will be a challenging issue for the Bush administration, testing the president's military and foreign policy. This paper will probe the anti-personnel land mines (APL) issue, seeking to review our approach to the Ottawa treaty, current U.S. policy, and present recommendations on future APL policy for the Bush administration.