Re: [CPEO-MEF] U.S. Military Wastes in the Philippines

[themissinglink@eznetinc.com]

What amazes me about our military is the arrogance in dealing with the views 
that local
individuals and governments hold regarding them.  From Vieques concerns 
being ignored to RAB's
being ignored (and even unilaterally dismantled) to the hundreds of other 
games they play with
feasibility studies and risk assessments.

And all because of some rule that makes them immune from other branches of 
government.  Is it a
win at all cost, never back down, mentality carried over from their core 
warfighting mission being
applied to other areas of social responsibility?

This article alone shows that this arrogance costs the United States 
diplomatically and we had to
remove our base from the Philippines.  In Japan we also see United States 
foreign policy and
national security being compromised by this lack of social responsibility on 
the part of the
military.  There is real resentment over the U.S. Military and even talk of 
a change in the
Japanese constitution to allow for offensive warfighting capability.  We 
could end up losing our
bases in Okinawa because of this.  The military has a responsibility to be 
good cistizens.

And back to pollution, how does the military balance the defense of this 
nation with the pollution
of the nation?  Much, if not most, of the DOD pollution is not the natural 
consequence of training
exercises as the DOD states is for our protection and for troop safety. This 
is a false argument.
No, it is the natural consequence of sloppy environmental practice, ignoring 
all EPA rules of
landfill creation and management, and an apparant regard for federal 
property as private for their
use at their pleasure regardless of the environmental impact.  No one has 
ever said that training
should not occur as the military implies in response to environmental 
concerns.  Ranges can be
narrowed as to target areas and can be situated with regard to environemtnal 
pathways to minimize
civilian contact.  Landfills can be created in compliance with CERCLA, the 
Clean Water Act, RCRA
and other laws that govern everyone else besides the military.

It's as if they think their #@*& doesn't stink because of their mission.  
Well industry is just as
critical to the welfare of the nation and I don't see them getting the 
special consideration the
military seems to feel entitled to.  We would all be dead if the entire 
environmental policy of
this country were extrapolated from DOD practices.

It's time for the military to view the environmental impact of their 
operations and the effect on
national policy their image has as part of their core mission.

I don't think our founding fathers envisioned the military becoming the 
fourth branch of
government that seems to have occurred.

Steven Pollack
888-300-8031

> Zambales Province, Philippines -- The U.S. military withdrew from two
> major bases in the Philippines in the early 1990s, admitting that it was
> no longer welcome. The pullout quieted a storm of nationalist protest
> and appeared to close a difficult chapter in the two countries' complex,
> shared history.
>
> But nearly a decade later, the former Subic Bay Naval Station and Clark
> Air Base are again the subject of a bitter dispute.
>
> American and Philippine environmentalists say U.S. forces left a trail
> of hazardous waste - from chemical-laced water that it is believed to
> have caused children to contract crippling diseases to unexploded bombs
> that have maimed and killed villagers.
>
> The Pentagon says there is no proof that the U.S. military caused
> widespread contamination at Subic and Clark, and it refuses to clean up
> or even investigate the sites, saying that's the job of the Philippine
> government, which inherited the valuable real estate.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~