Pentagon Abandons New Anti-personnel Landmine.
Move ensures that U.S. will not violate Ottawa treaty with new ‘Spider’ system.

The Washington Post reported in September that the Pentagon has eliminated a feature of a new weapons system that would have constituted the first U.S. production of anti-personnel landmines since 1997. While the U.S. has not joined the Land Mine Ban Treaty, and the Bush administration has reasserted the military utility of anti-personnel mines, this internal Pentagon decision to forgo a victim-activated feature on the new “Spider” system ensures that the U.S. will not produce internationally banned mines. According to a Pentagon report released in August, the current proposed system is remotely operated, meaning that the munitions require a human command to detonate and can be destroyed after a conflict ends.