Navy Wants Bombs, Not Ballots on Vieques

For nearly 60 years, the U.S. Navy has conducted naval exercises in Vieques, Puerto Rico. Day and night, naval officers perform aerial bombings and missile tests on part of a populated American commonwealth. The residents of Puerto Rico have made their opinion quite clear, regularly voting the Navy out while protesting violently through intrusions on the Navy target range. But the Navy continues bombing. The fact that America is a superpower does not give the U.S. military permission to take over a populated island and pollute it for the purpose of strengthening the armed forces.

In our current war against terrorism, it is understandable that the Navy wants to increase training. But in the aftermath of Sept. 11, the people of Vieques asked for a hold on scheduled maneuvers to allow its people time to recover from the emotional distress of terrorism; the Navy responded with 5-inch shells and inert bombs. This is a problem; the Navy must be more responsive to legitimate requests from American citizens.

Even in times of peace, the Navy has been criticized for pollution and the negative health effects of expended ammunition and uranium.

Yet, the Navy contends that it is vital to Puerto Rico’s economy due to the $14 billion in aid that the commonwealth receives from the United States. This implies an imaginary link between economic aid and the Department of Defense. A territory should not have to be a target range for the United States military in order to receive aid.

The Navy needs to listen to the people of Vieques. Last month, it postponed until January a referendum allowing residents to decide if bombing exercises should continue on their island or be halted in 2003. At this rate, 2003 will come sooner than the vote, and clearly, the Navy doesn’t care. “We do what we want, when we want, because we’re big, and we have money,” they seem to say. It is because of our actions in places like Vieques that we are viewed as callous and self-centered, an outlook that can only result in fewer allies for America in the long run.

Our policy of ignoring the little people needs to stop; the Navy should end its exploitation of Vieques. There is no reason to conduct bombing exercises on a populated island. The effort made looking for an equally good but unpopulated training ground will surely be rewarded.