Bishops Want Land Mines Gone

U.S. Catholic bishops joined critics of President Clinton’s decision to allow the U.S. military to continue limited use of land mines.

Clinton made the exception last week while calling for a worldwide ban on the weapons.

“While we welcome the Clinton administration’s renewed commitment to seek a global ban on these indiscriminate and deadly weapons, we are deeply disappointed at the limited steps proposed to bring this about,” the bishops said in a statement Monday.

Clinton decided to allow the military to continue using land mines in confrontation areas such as the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea while seeking a permanent worldwide ban on the weapons.

The president ordered the Pentagon immediately to stop using mines that don’t disarm or destroy themselves after a predetermined period, with two important exceptions: troop training and deployment on the Korean peninsula.