US No Longer Promoting Landmine Abolition

Published on Wednesday, December 28, 2005
by Haider Rizvi



Spider is an advanced, man-in-the-loop, area denial munition.
It will protect the warfighter by laying down either a lethal or
non-lethal field of fire yet puts complete command and control
in the hands of the soldier. Spider offers remotely controlled
force protection while enhancing the operational and tactical
flexibility of forces in the field. Spider is being developed
by ATK with its joint venture partner Textron.

UNITED NATIONS - In 1994, the United States was the first nation to call for the elimination of landmines that killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of innocent people around the world.
But that was then. Today, Washington not only stands in opposition to an international treaty that bans the use and production of antipersonnel landmines, but intends to make new ones too.

Spider is an advanced, man-in-the-loop, area denial munition. It will protect the warfighter by laying down either a lethal or non-lethal field of fire yet puts complete command and control in the hands of the soldier. Spider offers remotely controlled force protection while enhancing the operational and tactical flexibility of forces in the field.
Spider is being developed by ATK with its joint venture partner Textron.

In reversal of its earlier policy, the U.S. is reportedly planning to produce a new generation of landmines called "Spider" by March 2007, a move that has alarmed civil society groups campaigning for a global ban on the use and production of landmines for years.

"We are concerned about this," says Alison Bock, president and founder of Landmines Blow!, a U.S.-based independent group. "This would erase many of the positive steps the U.S. has taken in the past."

Landmines Blow! has joined a number of other groups in urging the Bush administration to drop its plans for Spider production and instead support the goals of the Mine Ban Treaty.

Major powers among the 40 nations who have not signed the treaty are the United States, Russia, and China.



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