Imagine you are an Afghan or Iraqi farmer returning home after war, how would you rebuild your life if starting up the plow could just as easily end it?   

Please devote time to savings lives and livelihoods by backing a US government endorsement of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. Landmines and cluster bombs remaining in the ground after combat do not only theaten farmers, travelers, kids, and soldiers in war zones, they also threaten Americans. Here’s how:

Economically - Western tax payers are not only billed for the purchase of these deadly weapons, but also the cost of removing them, helping the wounded recover, and, most broadly, the cost of delivering food and livelihood aid to regions of the world where landmines have made farming impossible.

Geographically - Western professionals and travelers who work as soldiers, journalists, aid workers, exchange teachers, medical professionals, mountaineers, excavators, geologists, archaeologists, and much more encounter landmine risk every day. They not only face it in war zones, but even in tourism Meccas like Israel, Croatia, and Thailand.   

Collective Responsibility - Many of us in peaceful communities like in the US contribute to the use of landmines and cluster bombs and their potential side-effects simply by paying taxes. When someone loses their life, their leg, or their child to a landmine or cluster bomb made by a company in our country, we hold some responsibility for this. In fact, many survivors of the explosive remnants of war may benefit from US assistance, they may be a big fan of America, but they may also blame the US if it is responsible for their loss. And so Americans not only share some responsibility, but also may suffer the consequences of the cost in international relations. 

As to the exceptions - The US government may choose not to endorse the Mine Ban Treaty because of the financial costs of removal, the improbability of regulating allies, and the tricky question of the Korean division line. But US taxpayers are already paying for the costs of mines, and will eventually, if not for removal than for recovering the damage done by others, namely the ruin of millions of hectares of farm land. Though the US may not be able to control the actions of allies, it must set a good example. And as for Korea, the US can sign an exception letter with the Mine Ban endorsement in order to buy time and figure out a solution.

Thank you very much for your commitment not only to international security but also the welfare of Americans,