Clearing the Fields: Solutions to the Global Land Mines Crisis

Clearing the Fields: Solutions to the Global Land Mines Crisis
edited by Kevin M. Cahill, 237 pp, paper, $25, ISBN 0-465-01177-2, New York, NY, BasicBooks, 1995.

Michael K. Elmore-Meegan, BPhEccl, MSc, TCD, PhD

[+] Author Affiliations

International Community for the Relief of Starvation and Suffering (ICROSS) Nyoonyorrie Mobile Unit Base Mbagathi, Kenya

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The use of land mines has evolved from a predominantly defensive battlefield tactic designed to impede the movement of enemy artillery to an offensive weapon that terrorizes entire civilian populations. Clearing the Fields is the first serious attempt at exploring solutions and answers to a problem that kills hundreds of civilians every week around the world. Here is a book that should be read by every political and military decision maker.

Clearing the Fields is a rich source of up-to-date information. More than 100 million mines have been deployed in over 60 countries. In the former Yugoslavia an estimated 3 million mines have been planted without maps during the past four years, with 50 000 more hidden each week. In Cambodia one of every 253 people is an amputee. On average, antipersonnel mines can be bought for $10 to $20, with many available for less than $3. In contrast, it ...