Editorials
Monday, September 8, 1997LAND mines are one of the horrors of modern warfare. More than 100 million unexploded land mines are buried in 80 countries. It's estimated it would take 1,100 years to find and remove all of them at the current rate. The mines kill or maim 26,000 people each year. Ban on land mines
may require exceptionsMost of the victims are noncombatants. Civilian casualties in Angola, Mozambique and Cambodia have been horrendous. But mines also accounted for 64,000 U.S. casualties in the Vietnam War.
A movement to ban the production and use of land mines has drawn support from about 100 countries. A treaty is expected to be signed in Ottawa, Canada, in December. A conference on the issue is currently under way in Oslo, Norway. Princess Diana took up the cause and became the most prominent advocate of a ban and supporter of its victims.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has been fighting for eight years to get land mines outlawed by the U.S. government. He observes, "The problem with land mines is that wars end, peace treaties are signed, armies march away, the guns grow silent -- but the land mines stay."
The Clinton administration has been pushing for land mine curbs through the 61-nation U.N. Conference on Disarmament but supports a treaty that would allow the U.S. to continue using some mines, including "smart" mines that self-destruct after a few hours or days.
This doesn't satisfy advocates of a total ban. Leahy points out that "smart" mines "still can't tell the difference between a soldier and a child."
Washington doesn't want to tamper with minefields that may protect the lives of American soldiers, especially those stationed along the so-called "demilitarized zone" that divides North and South Korea. Land mines there could discourage or help stop an invasion by North Korea, still a real possibility.
For many of the countries that support a total ban on land mines, the issue is academic because they are not currently involved in military operations or have any near-term prospect of doing so. Other countries would ignore a ban if it suited them. Would anyone expect Saddam Hussein to respect a ban?
The United States falls into neither category. Despite the end of the Cold War, we continue to engage in military operations in many countries. Korea is a prime example of a situation where land mines could be a useful weapon and save American lives.
A treaty banning land mines would express the repugnance felt for their unintended effects, but it's not clear that it could achieve its goal. An exception for "smart" mines seems advisable.
THE Social Security Administration ran into a storm of criticism when it made personal earnings and benefits records available on the Internet last March. The agency suspended the interactive service a month later after critics complained that it endangered privacy. Social Security records
Now the administration plans to try again. Acting Society Security Commissioner John J. Callahan announced that his agency will unveil a more modest and secure version of its online service by the end of the year. People will be able to get online estimates of their retirement benefits, but the earnings and tax histories used to make those calculations will be sent out only through the regular mail.
"We recognize that the Internet is here to stay, and we want to make use of it," Callahan said. That's the proper attitude -- with the all-important proviso that they get it right this time.
ATHENS has a unique claim to hold the Olympics because the games began in Greece. Now the International Olympic Committee has awarded it the 2004 games. Some viewed it as consolation for the rejection of Athens' bid for the 1996 games, held in Atlanta. Athens held the first modern Olympics in 1896. Site of Olympics
However, sentiment may be the only valid reason to hold the games in Athens. Any of the other competitors for the 2004 games -- Rome, Stockholm, Buenos Aires and Cape Town -- probably would have made a more attractive site.
Moreover, the games have never been held in either South America or Africa. It's about time the Olympics became more thoroughly cosmopolitan.
Meanwhile Australia will have the games for a second time -- in 2000 in Sydney. That should be better than Athens, too.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
