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echaloner40 karma

I've no idea of the number but imagine most of them would be on the border between the two countries and have been there for a while - its probable that the forces that laid them have good records of how many mines, what type and their locations, so as a mine clearing task it should be (relatively) easy

echaloner31 karma

yes definately - some mines will degrade over time depending on the local environmental conditions and the type of explosive they contain. But the main charges are pretty stable compounds and as long as the detonator components havent corroded, they will function pretty effectively - for example the mines laid in Afghanistan by the Soviets in the 1980's were still wounding British soldiers in 2006 - the subject of the Kajaki movie that I recently advised on

echaloner30 karma

you should - best thing about being co-located with the engrs is that they build decent field toilets pretty quickly!

echaloner23 karma

Quite a significant impact from a 30 minute photo shoot! I had just left Quito (Angola) a few weeks before the famous media event. Nevertheless it does illustrate the power of media and 'celebrity'. The ensuing publicity did raise a lot of money (especially in the USA) and did add a push to the 'global landmine treaty' - although I'm a bit sceptical about the value of the latter. So, yes, in summary a significant contribution

echaloner23 karma

They are both equally useless. A horse sized landmine is too large to deploy effectively A landmine sized horse is too small to ride