He was met at Kabul's airport Friday morning by a team of mine clearance experts -- a symbol of one of the U.N.

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During his military career, Mr Smith worked all over the world and was involved in mine clearance, bomb disposal, body recovery and anti-piracy work.

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They have helped test the impact of nonlethal munitions like plastic and rubber bullets and have helped determine the best kind of footwear for land-mine clearance teams.

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His May 9-15 visit will include trips to Arlington National Cemetery, Walter Reed National Medical Center and an exhibition on Capitol Hill about land mine clearance, a favorite subject of his late mother, Princess Diana.

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At this time, a reconstruction program involving mine clearance, road building, food and medicine distribution, refugee return and infrastructure repair would be taken on by the UN administration with the cooperation of the militias and under the protection of the foreign military.

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Worst of all, the ICBL's publicity machine diverts resources and attention from urgently needed mine-clearance efforts.

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Mine-clearance operations could expose people to serious health risks, he said.

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But by distorting statistics, the ICBL presents the land-mine problem as being too vast to be addressed by clearance.

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The United Nations' Mine Action Service took on the task of co-ordinating the many organisations paid to carry out the clearance work.

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Vedanta has been trying to mine a patch of the Niyamgiri Hills for several years and was waiting for the final step of an environmental clearance.

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