Land Mines Ban

Re the July 31 editorial on the process to ban land mines:

One of the sound bites of anti-land mine activists is: “Land mines cost $3 to make and $1,000 to make harmless.” That’s true. What they don’t say is that the $3 is spent by defenders and the $1,000 by invaders. That’s why land mines are the primary weapon of defense for the poor and passive populace of villages, cities and states threatened by an aggressor.

Land mines are horrible weapons because they lay in wait, creating chaos and destruction, long after the battle is over. But we need to be very cautious that we don’t create the condition wherein if land mines are outlawed only outlaws will have land mines.

RICHARD JEPPERSON, Glendale