CCP 04-08-1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I IIIIIIIITE&HSYSTEMS I. ._~ I Krist! Rollag Wangstad Alliant T echsystems Ine Tel 612931-5250 V,ce President, Public Aftairs MNll-2043 600 Second Street NE I Hopkins, MN 55343-8384 April 1 , 1996 I Honorable Dennis Probst Mayor of Arden Hills I 1450 W. Highway 96 Arden Hills, MN 55112 I Dear Mayor Probst: I am writing to tell you Alliant has been informed that an anti-land mine demonstration I will be held at Alliant's Hopkins facility on Tuesday, May 7th. This event is being organized by the Midwest Institute for Social Transformation in support of the Minnesota Campaign to Ban Landmines. I You have an important relationship with Alliant, and we want you to know the facts about the U.S. position and Alliant's position on the land mine issue. As you may .. have read or seen in media reports, there is an extensive problem in many countries caused by long-lived landmines. These tend to be inexpensive devices that have I been used by warring parties, governments within their own borders and by terrorist organizations. They continue to remain lethal until someone or something causes them to explode, which has resulted in many civilian deaths and injuries. I The only landmines ever produced by Alliant have been self-destruct, self- deactivating mines, which have been an integral requirement in U.S. strategy to I protect U.S. soldiers. Self-destruct times for U.S. mines range from four hours to 15 days, after which the mine is destroyed and completely removed. Backup self- deactivation, which renders the mine inoperable through exhaustion of the battery, I never fails - the batteries always die. These are the only types of mines supported by the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, which represents the United States in international negotiations on the United Nations Convention on I Conventional Weapons. They have not contributed to the problem caused by long- lived landmines. I Several years ago, the U.S, Army ceased procurement of antipersonnel systems. Today we support U.S. contracts for two antitank systems called Volcano and Gator, which each contain a small number of self-destruct, self-deactivating antipersonnel I mines. .. The United States has not caused the worldwide landmine problem, but is committed to providing leadership in addressing the issue within the international community. I -