AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SENATE

16 June 1998

Hon. Trent Lott
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Lott:

We understand that the Senate may shortly be asked to consider an amendment to the FY
1999
Defense Authorization bill that would have the effect of creating a statutory requirement for the
U.S. military to cease all use of anti-personnel landmines (APLs) by 2006, if not before. In our
professional opinion as former senior commanders of American ground forces, such a decision
would likely translate into the needless and unjustifiable death of many of this country’s combat
personnel — and possibly jeopardize our forces’ ability to prevail on the battlefield.

As you may know, we were among the twenty-four retired four-star general officers who
expressed to President Clinton our concerns about such an initiative last summer. In an open
letter to the President dated July 21, 1997, we wrote: “In our experience, [the] 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.” The open letter went on
to note that:

“Studies suggest that U.S./allied casualties may be increased by as much as 35% if
self-destructing mines are unavailable — particularly in the ‘halting phase’ of operations
against aggressors. Such a cost is especially unsupportable since the type of mines
utilized by U.S. forces and the manner in which they are employed by those forces do
not contribute to the humanitarian problem that impels diplomatic and legislative
initiatives to ban APLs.

“Unfortunately, a ban on future deployments of APLs will in no way diminish the
danger posed by tens of millions of ‘dumb’ landmines that have been irresponsibly
sown where they will inflict terror and devastation on civilian populations.
Detecting and clearing such mines should continue to receive urgent attention
from our government and others. The unverifiability and unenforceability of a ban
on production of such devices, however, virtually ensures that this practice will
continue in the future. Only the U.S. military — and those of other
law-abiding nations — will be denied a means, through the use of marked
and monitored minefields, of reducing the costs and increasing the
probability of victory in future conflicts.” (Emphasis added.)

We were deeply troubled to learn that President Clinton has recently agreed to impose
constraints on and, within a few years, to ban outright the use of even self-destructing
anti-personnel landmines. This is all the more remarkable given the opposition previously
expressed
by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Nation’s Combatant Commanders to such limitations and
President Clinton’s own statement of September 17, 1997 when he announced his opposition to
the Ottawa treaty banning APLs, 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 that I simply cannot cross, and that line
is the safety and security of our men and women in uniform.”

We urge you and your colleagues to reject any legislative initiative
that would have the
effect of crossing the line — whether by endorsing new “operational concepts” (read, accepting
more U.S. casualties) or other measures — that would jeopardize the safety and security of our
men and women in uniform by impinging upon the U.S. military’s ability to make responsible use
of self-destructing/self-deactivating anti-personnel landmines and long-duration APLs in Korea.

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

John W. Foss

General, United States Army (Ret.)

Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command

Alfred M. Gray
General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Former Commandant

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

Frederick J. Kroesen

General, United States Army (Ret.)

Former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army, Europe

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

Robert W. RisCassi

General, United States Army (Ret.)

Former Vice Chief of Staff

Donn A. Starry

General, United States Army (Ret.)

Former Commanding General, U.S. Army Readiness Command

Gordon R. Sullivan

General, United States Army (Ret.)

Former Chief of Staff

Louis C. Wagner, Jr.

General, United States Army (Ret.)

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)