People's reactions to this are kind of confusing. I think people associate the term "land mine" with a passive device that detonates indiscriminately when operated by its victim. While the majority of mines in the world today are deployed in this fashion, mines currently fielded by the U.S. are mostly command detonated. The claymore being the most prominent example of this type of mine. Mines like claymores are deployed for the duration of an operation and then retrieved after words. While the U.S. does have an inventory of passive mine systems, they are not extensively utilized in current conflicts. Besides all this, the U.S. adheres to the Hague and Geneva conventions which prohibit excessive use of force as well as the indiscriminate targeting of civilians. ALL U.S. munitions are deployed with respect to those treaties.
As to the question, "How do you make a mine that only targets the enemy?" (which should really be "How do you make a passive mine system that only targets the enemy?)
There are a few ways to do it:
For vehicles, you can use acoustic sensors to identify sound signatures produced by enemy equipment like tanks or helicopters. you could also use cameras to identify specific vehicles.
For people, Command detonation is the best method, but, since mines are used to deny enemy access to a specific region anyway, informing the local populace and posting signs is a good start. Mines that deactivate after a certain criteria is met (an expiration time, for instance) are also helpful. In either case, mapping mines and recovering them after they have become operationally moot is something responsible nations have been doing for a while.
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