Celestial Navigation: Pentagon’s Extraordinary ’64-Star’ Letter Shows Why The U.S. Cannot Agree to Ban All Landmines

(Washington, D.C.): In an
unprecedented display of the Pentagon’s
verbal firepower, the United
States’ entire senior military
leadership went on record last week
in opposition to draft legislation which
would “permanently restrict the use
of funds for new deployment of
anti-personnel landmines (APL)
commencing 1 January 2000.” Signed
by every member of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff and all of the regional
Commanders-in-Chief (CINCs), this letter
makes clear that the bill co-sponsored by
Sens. Patrick Leahy
(D-VT) and Chuck Hagel
(R-NE) would “unnecessarily endanger
U.S. military forces and significantly
restrict the ability to conduct combat
operations successfully.”

The sixteen four-star generals and
admirals who signed this letter ( href=”index.jsp?section=papers&code=97-D_97at”>see attached)
make clear that “landmines are a
‘combat multiplier’ for U.S. land forces,
especially since the dramatic reduction
of the force structure.” As has been
noted previously by Secretary of
Defense William Cohen, JCS
Chairman General John Shalikashvili,
Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Chairman Jesse Helms
and the Center for Security Policy,⁽¹⁾
this important contribution to American
combat power is accomplished without
contributing to the humanitarian problem
caused by the “indiscriminate and
irresponsible use
of…non-self-destructing APL.”

In the words of the Nation’s top
military officers, the United States,
instead, uses self-destructing
anti-personnel landmines “to shape
the battlefield, protect unit flanks and
maximize the effects of other weapons
systems” — steps that are
“particularly important to the
protection of early entry and light
forces, which must be prepared to fight
outnumbered during the initial stages of
a deployment.” They add: “We
must, at this time, retain the use of
self-destructing APL in order to minimize
the risk to U.S. soldiers and marines in
combat.”

The Bottom Line

The Center for Security Policy
thoroughly agrees with the bottom line
conveyed by the extraordinary “64
Stars” letter:

“Until the United States has
a capable replacement for
self-destructing APL, maximum
flexibility and war-fighting
capability for American combat
commanders must be preserved. The
lives of our sons and daughters
should be given the highest
priority when deciding whether or
not to ban unilaterally the use
of self-destructing APL.”

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1.
Fore more on the views of these
critics of the Leahy-Hagel bill, see the
Center’s Decision Brief
papers entitled The Battle Is
Joined: Defense Department, Congressional
Opposition Mounts To Fatuous Landmine Ban
( No. 97-D 94,
9 July 1997) and Hold that
Line: JCS Objections Appear Crucial To
Retaining American Right To Use Landmines
To Save U.S. Troops’ Lives
(No. 97-D 81,
18 June 1997).