AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT CLINTON

September 11, 1997

Hon. William Clinton
The White House
Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. President:

As you know, we* wrote you on July 21^st to “urge you to resist all efforts to impose a moratorium on the future use of self-destructing anti-personnel landmines by combat forces of the United States.” In particular, we expressed concern about “U.S. participation in any international agreement that would prohibit the defensive use by American forces of modern, self-destructing anti-personnel landmines (APLs) and/or the use of so-called ‘dumb mines’ in the Korean demilitarized zone.” These recommendations were informed by the fact that “in our experience, such responsible use of APLs is not only consistent with the Nation’s humanitarian responsibilities; it is indispensable to the safety of our troops in many combat and peacekeeping situations.”

Subsequently, you decided to dispatch an official delegation to Oslo to explore changes to a draft treaty banning anti-personnel landmines that is expected to be signed in Ottawa next December. Press accounts report that this delegation has encountered overwhelming opposition to several positions that the Joint Chiefs of Staff and your administration as a whole agreed were essential if such a treaty were to be minimally acceptable. As things now stand, it appears this accord will now include: a complete ban on anti-personnel landmines on the Korean peninsula; a prohibition on the use of all self-destructing/self-deactivating APLs — irrespective of whether they are combined with anti-tank mines or not; and the rejection of the important qualifier “primarily designed for” needed to ensure that the use or transfer to allies of non-APL ordnance is not captured by this ban. In addition, the landmine treaty may not have the standard “supreme national interests” clause that provides a fail-safe mechanism by permitting withdrawal from international agreements in the event changed circumstances make them incompatible with those interests.

In light of these developments, we respectfully suggest that the treaty that will result from the “Ottawa process” will be incompatible with the U.S. military’s abiding requirement to use short-duration anti-personnel landmines where appropriate and to deploy long-duration APLs in Korea. You will, of course, be under considerable pressure nonetheless to sign on to this accord. We wanted you to know that we stand ready to lend the authority of our experience as ground combat commanders to you, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and others in making the case against the clearly defective landmine treaty now taking shape in Oslo.

Sincerely,

Robert H. Barrow
General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Former Commandant

Raymond G. Davis
General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Former Assistant Commandant and Medal of Honor Recipient (Korea)

Michael S. Davison
General, United States Army (Ret.)
Former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army, Europe

Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
General, United States Army (Ret.)
Former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
Former Secretary of State

P.X. Kelley
General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Former Commandant

David M. Maddox
General, United States Army (Ret.)
Former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army, Europe

Carl E. Mundy
General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Former Commandant

Louis C. Wagner, Jr.
General, United States Army
Former Commanding General, Army Materiel Command

Joseph J. Went
General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Former Assistant Commandant

Louis H. Wilson
General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Former Commandant and Medal of Honor Recipient (World War II)

* In the interest of conveying the points contained in this letter at the earliest possible moment, it is being forwarded with the names of those among the 24 signatories of the original July 21 open letter who have responded as of 12:00 p.m. on September 11, 1997. Additional signatories will be forwarded as they are received.