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CNN Sunday Morning

Landmines Could Pose Major Threat to Troops in Afghanistan

Aired September 30, 2001 - 07:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Now the potential for danger on the ground -- Kyra Phillips in Atlanta on Sunday morning.

Kyra, good morning to you.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill, good to see you this morning.

Well, Pentagon officials confirm that U.S. and British Special Forces have conducted reconnaissance operations inside Afghanistan to pave the way for future action against suspected terrorist, Osama Bin Laden. But one of the biggest risks for any troops on the ground is landmines and that's what we're going to talk about.

I'm going to show you a map here. Kabul is the most heavily mined capital city in the world and across the countryside; there are other areas that are at high risk. Now, as you can see by these highlighted areas, all in here is where we've marked where there are landmines. And right here, is where you'll find the capital city of Kabul.

Now, in Afghanistan, last year, an average of 88 Afghans were hurt or killed each month -- or each month by these landmines or unexploded ordinates. That's down from eight years ago, when as many as 24 Afghans were hurt or killed each day.

Well, how many landmines are there in Afghanistan? Experts believe nearly 280,000 square miles of the country are littered with landmines and half of that area is considered a high priority for clearing. Even the opposing sides in Afghanistan recognize the hazard. The Taliban imposed a ban on anti-personnel mines three years ago. And leaders of the Northern Alliance met with the Afghan campaign to ban landmines as recently as last spring.

Well, so, how big exactly is the landmine threat to U.S. troops that may be targeting Afghanistan? Joining me from Washington is Major General Don Shepperd.

Good to see you, General.

MAJOR GENERAL DON SHEPPERD, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET): Good morning, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Why don't we talk first about the history of these landmines and where they came from?

SHEPPERD: Well, the landmines have been in existence in the military for a long time, even since civil war days and before. Arguably, some people say they came from the revolutionary times. But they've become an essential part of modern military warfare, mainly for aerial denial and a protection of key points, this type of thing. They're spread all over the world in as many as 60 countries. There's maybe -- is 100 million mines may be out there today -- a big, big problem, a big threat.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, let's talk about them specifically, shall we. We're going to start off here. This one is called the POMZ-2. We're going to try and get a tight shot of this and so you'll be able to look at too, General. There it is. Now, this one is the most deadly, I understand. Can you tell a little bit about this one?

SHEPPERD: Yes, there's two types of mines -- basically, an anti- vehicle mine and an anti-personnel. The one you're holding is an anti-personnel mine. It's generally set off by trip wires. This is a mine that's been around for a long time. We encountered it in Vietnam. They put in the jungle. Someone would trip it and of course, it's also, what is called a bounding mine. It will lay a layer of shrapnel 10 to 14 inches above the ground, designed to hit people in the legs and not only to kill but also to maim. It's a very -- it's a terrible, terrible threat.

PHILLIPS: The second one we have, General, is the PFM-1. These are the butterfly mine. Let's talk a little bit about these. These are tossed out of aircraft, correct?

SHEPPERD: Yes, they can be tossed out of aircraft. They can be tossed out of helicopters, of course, as well as fighter type aircraft, bomber type aircraft. We don't use this type of mine, but it's particularly vicious because that's something that a kid would pick up. They come in different colors. They litter the countryside. They're pressure sensitive, as well, in some cases, is movement sensitive. And there are literally millions of these laying around that will be around forever. They have to be found individually and of course, there's no mapping of this type of mine, a very, very bad threat to soldiers and civilians.

PHILLIPS: Another one, I understand, is a very difficult one to handle and this one is the VS-50. And this is -- I mean obviously, these are buried in the ground. You can't see them and they're plastic. So I assume they are hard to detect with a metal detector.

SHEPPERD: Yes, particularly nasty. They're buried anywhere from six to 12 inches under the ground. Normally, they're pressure sensitive although they can be detonated in other ways. But when you use a metal detector to try to find them, you can pick up the circuitry but most often, there's other metal in the area from expended shells and that type of thing. So they're very hard to detect.

We spent a lot of time and money trying to find new ways to find these -- long wave radars, hyper-spectral, mutli-spectral imagery, thermal systems, this type of thing but we haven't come up with anything. There's no silver bullet out there that's a solution to mines.

PHILLIPS: So how do you protect U.S. troops at this point? They're in the area. The landmines are out there. What do you do?

SHEPPERD: Well, every military person receives indoctrination on mines from the beginning of their military career. When you go into an area like Afghanistan, you receive a special briefing. For instance, all of our troops that are going into Bosnia right now receive mine awareness training -- how to recognize them and what to do if you suddenly find yourself in the middle of a minefield either on foot or in a vehicle. This is part of regular military training and it will be focused now on Afghanistan -- the types of mines, the areas, which you must be aware everywhere you are in the military in a military operation about mines.

PHILLIPS: And General, looking into the future of the Ottawa Treaty -- let's talk a little bit about this, a little history and where it stands right now because this could make a big impact, right?

SHEPPERD: Yes, the Ottawa Treaty is designed to bring mining to a halt. Now, presently, the hundred -- approximately the 170 nations in the U.N., 138 have signed this treaty, 101 have ratified it. Three of the people, who have not ratified it, are Russia, China and the United States. President Clinton said we would sign it in 2006 with one big caveat, if we could find another method for area denial. We are trying to find area denial because the cost right now -- we don't have maps of the locations of these mines and once they're put in, approximately, they say, nine out of 10 causalities from these mines comes not from the soldiers who are aware of them and know how to operate around them, but from civilians later on, a tragic, tragic situation.

PHILLIPS: And we'll continue to follow the outcome of that and also continue to check in with you.

Major General, Don Shepperd, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

All right, we're going to turn it back over to our Bill Hemmer in New York. Pretty interesting, Bill, a little more in-depth coverage on that.

HEMMER: Indeed it is, Kyra. Thank you very much.

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