Gunnair Gunnair:
Guy_Fawkes Guy_Fawkes:
I'll say it again, landmines and IEDs are both dangerous and are both killers.
The reason landmines have a higher kill count is because they have been employed since the early 40s in large numbers. Some armies do not even keep record of where they lay their mines. IEDs (improvised landmines) have only been used in large amounts in recent history.
This difference in safety is not so ridiculous to the people who have to render them safe.
Guy, I'm not sure why you think safety is a noteworthy point here so I'll resubmit. My point with IEDs and land mines was of a moral nature not a safety one.
Hope that's clearer.
I understand, I know saying this will make me sound like a broken record and a maybe a bit of a dick but, I think that the safety of a weapon impacts how moral it is.
While both weapon systems can in indiscriminately kill (depending on how you deploy them), IEDs can be unpredictable.
You take a M16 APERS mine, bury it and come back in a month the mine will be in almost the exact same condition and can be rendered safe with little difficulty. Bury an IED for a month and come back you have no idea what condition it will be in, it could be more sensitive or could be less. Hell the thing might even blow up without anyone touching it.
With all of this aside the Taliban believe they are fighting to preserve their way of life, if Canada was invaded by an opposing force you are fool to think that after our conventional munitions were used up we wouldnt resort to improvised weapons.
While the morality of a weapon can be determined, ultimately it is the morality of the person that uses it which counts.