Reclaiming the Minefields

Your article on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice included a photo of her with an Afghan girls' soccer team [March 28]. Therein lies an inspiring story. Those girls play soccer on a field that was cleared of land mines with the help of Roots of Peace, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that raises money from U.S. middle and high school students. The State Department works with 50 NGOs to raise money from private sources for land-mine removal, augmenting the nearly $1 billion the U.S. government has contributed since 1993.

Rose M. Likins
Acting Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC