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December 23, 1995
Web posted at: 11 p.m. EST
From Correspondent Rusty Dornin
LIVERMORE, California (CNN) -- An estimated 6 million mines threaten the lives of NATO peacekeepers and civilians in Bosnia. The threat has stepped up demands for new methods of mine detection and renewed concerns worldwide of how to handle an underground enemy that continues to fight long after the wars have ended.
Searching for the enemy below requires sharp eyes and skill. Millions of land mines are scattered across Bosnia and are ready to explode at the faintest footfall.
Worldwide there are an estimated 100 million land mines buried in 60 countries. "You can stop the fighting. You can sign a peace agreement. Armies can even totally disarm, but the killing continues because the land mines are usually in a place where nobody knows where they are," says Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont. (153K AIFF sound or 153K WAV sound)
Leahy wants the United States to lead the international community in banning mines, just as chemical and biological weapons are outlawed.
NATO peacekeepers are trained on how to handle being caught in mine field. Mine detection and clearing is now top priority at the Pentagon. A new method under consideration is an all-terrain robot that could be used as a scout to locate and detonate mines in the mountains of Bosnia.
"You can stop the fighting. You can sign a peace agreement. Armies can even totally disarm, but the killing continues because the land mines are usually in a place where nobody knows where they are"
-- Senator Patrick Leahy
During the Persian Gulf War, the Army looked into using a device that consists of a blanket of chains with digging knives that is dragged by a helicopter. "We were on live minefields with it and we eliminated 90 percent of the mines. It can continue to go for dozens and dozens of big blasts. It's so simple to fix, a mechanic can fix it in an hour," says inventor Bill Wattenberg. (366K QuickTime movie)
But each method has its drawbacks. "I agree it can sweep large areas faster than a tank. But I question whether the device would be effective in (certain) types of soils," says Lawrence Nee of the U.S. Army.
Frozen ground, snow, and tree-covered hillsides interfere with detection. Experts say that there is no one answer to find and clear the hundreds of different mines. "I think they're desperate to find the answers. The problem is that desperation lasts a short period of time and the issue becomes 'when do we solve the problem,'" says Milton Finger of the Lawrence Livermore Lab.
If not used in Bosnia, experts say that new devices like the chain matrix could be used to help stop the maiming of civilians elsewhere and perhaps help rebuild economies. "I see it principally in a post-war application ... where people want to reclaim the land of agricultural purposes," Finger says.
It is a matter of detecting the enemy long after the armies are gone.
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