[CPEO-MEF] Answer to Cohen: Vieques no se vende

[Joel Feigenbaum <joelf@cape.com>]

Please Post

The following is the full text of the AP story that appeared in the press
today. Note Sec'y Cohen's statement about "sacrifice," so hypocritical in
so many ways that it defies rational discussion. This morning's Cape Cod
Times version of the story was much better, with headline "Puerto Rico
rejects U.S. training curbs. $40 million incentive turned down", with local
comments, comparison to Cape Cod, and discussion of the diversion of USS
Eisenhower from Vieques--but it has not yet been posted on their Website
(www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/index.htm)

Joel Feigenbaum

>Clinton ends military use of Vieques unless residents agree
>By ROBERT BURNS
>AP Military Writer
>WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clinton today ordered the military to stop
>using a Puerto Rican island as a live-bombing range unless residents there
>allow the practice to continue, and to phase out all use of the island for
>military training over the next five years.
>Emphasizing the importance of the island to military readiness, the
>Clinton administration dangled a $40 million incentive to try to persuade
>Vieques' 9,000 civilians, who are U.S. citizens, to let the training
>continue.
>"I understand the longstanding concerns of residents of the island,"
>Clinton said in a statement that also stressed the importance of military
>training carried out at Vieques since 1941.
>"These concerns must be addressed, and I believe our plan will do so in a
>constructive manner," said Clinton, whose decision was based on the
>recommendations of Defense Secretary William Cohen.
>However, Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Rossello rejected the decision as
>"unacceptable for the people of Puerto Rico and the people of Vieques."
>"It doesn't fulfill the expectations we have for the people of Vieques,"
>he said, objecting to any possible renewal of live-bombing on the island.
>Rossello has called for the Navy to withdraw.
>The Navy operations have been a target of occasional protests and legal
>actions since the 1960s, but the controversy erupted into a crisis after a
>civilian security guard was killed last April. The Navy then suspended
>training on Vieques but has sought a way to resume it as soon as possible.
>The Navy has argued that the island was irreplaceable in preparing U.S.
>forces for combined land, sea and air operations on the Atlantic side of
>the world.
>The island, which has been a key training ground for the ships and
>aircraft of the Navy's Atlantic Fleet since World War II, offers "the most
>rigorous, realistic training" facility available, Navy Secretary Richard
>Danzig said.
>In a letter to Clinton outlining his recommendation on Vieques, Cohen said
>operations there are "a vital part of training our combat forces."
>"I also firmly believe that all U.S. citizens, whether they live in states
>or other jurisdictions, must make sacrifices in order to support the
>strong national defense that preserves the freedoms we all enjoy," Cohen
>wrote. "There is not a single part of our country that doesn't make some
>adjustments or accommodations to sustain the presence of the military."
>Under the administration's plan, the number of training days would
>immediately be cut in half from 180 to 90 per year.
>"Within the five years, the Navy will develop alternatives to the
>training, and all training will terminate unless agreed to by the Vieques
>people and the Navy," Danzig said.
>A resumption of training "would be accompanied by" a $40 million community
>economic development program, he said.
>Early reports of the decision sparked a celebration among protesters on
>Vieques, some of whom have camped on the beach for nearly six months.
>"If this is true, then it's a triumph of the people," said Ismael
>Guadelupe, a local fisherman who is among the protest leaders. "But the
>triumph will be complete when they turn over all the lands, clean up the
>contamination and compensate the people of Vieques for all their years of
>suffering."
>The first military force affected by the decision, the USS Eisenhower
>battle group, was being sent to the Mediterranean without training on
>Vieques.
>Danzig said other battle groups also would be affected until training can
>resume on the island.
>The Marines with the Eisenhower, instead of using Vieques, will conduct an
>amphibious assault on the North Carolina coast, and Navy strike aircraft
>will conduct air-to-ground bombing runs at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.,
>officials said earlier.
>The recommendation means the Eisenhower battle group likely would deploy
>to the Mediterranean Sea in February at a substantially reduced state of
>combat readiness, several officials said.
>The Navy has felt strongly that its carrier battle groups must be allowed
>the realistic training that Vieques provided to be ready for combat, since
>they may be called on to begin actual combat once they arrive on station.
>Navy officials had insisted that Vieques is the only Atlantic Coast site
>available for such training.
>

Joel Feigenbaum
ph: (508) 833-0144
24 Pond View Drive
E. Sandwich MA 02537



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