Patrick Leahy: “Maybe one issue is especially good to look at as we look at the world's attention focused on Afghanistan. I was struck…”

“Maybe one issue is especially good to look at as we look at the world's attention focused on Afghanistan. I was struck by what I heard over and over again from various military analysts and others; that is, there are millions of unexploded landmines scattered throughout that mountainous country. It is not hyperbole when I say millions of unexploded landmines; there are millions. Most of them are plastic Russian mines--those are probably the most difficult to detect--but some are Chinese mines, some are British mines, some are Italian mines, and some are American mines. The reason I mention that is, any one of those mines could kill a soldier--ours or theirs--or kill a child. A lot of them are designed to injure a combatant, blow a leg off a soldier, the idea being, if the soldier is not dead, it might tie up three or four of his comrades to take care of him or carry him back to a safe place. But, of course, a shiny little mine that might blow a leg off a soldier--it looks like a shiny toy to a child--sometimes blows off the hands, arms, or head of a child. In fact, the vast majority of those who will be injured by them will be noncombatants.”