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American Morning

Practice Bombing to End on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico

Aired June 14, 2001 - 11:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: First for you this morning, the battle over bombing exercise on Vieques may be about to end. The Navy is expected to announce plans to give up its bombing range on the Puerto Rican island.

For the latest, we want to go live now to CNN's military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre; he's at the Pentagon -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN MILITARY AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Donna, it's all over but some of the shouting in -- but the Bush administration has made a decision, sources say, that it will end the use of the training -- the bombing range on Vieques in May of 2003, when the current agreement runs out.

In making that decision, the White House and the senior civilian, who is in charge of the Navy -- the Navy secretary -- are essentially overruling the uniform military, who had insisted that they needed Vieques to prepare troops, sailors and ships for combat, and that there was no good alternative on the East Coast.

It also pulls the rug out from the Navy, who was trying to desperately win a November referendum that would have allowed the Navy to continue using live bombs on Vieques. Right now they're limited to using inert bombs, or dummy bombs, that don't explode in training exercises. In fact, another round of training exercises is supposed to begin next week -- early next week.

Now, this decision isn't sitting well with a lot of people. First of all, the protesters, who have been protesting since 1999, when a security guard was killed there. They have -- they insist that the bombing should stop now, not wait until May of 2003. So they're not entirely happy with this decision.

The Navy feels that it should have been allowed a chance to win that referendum, even though some of the polls suggest that it didn't have much of a chance. And some conservatives in Congress are concerned that the Bush administration has knuckled in to the protesters, has given in, and set a precedent that protests can stop military training that's vital for national security.

But the Bush administration argues that that battle was already lost by the previous administration, the Clinton administration when they agreed to that referendum. They don't think that referenda are the way to set national security policy, and they argue that it was time to throw in the towel, to move on, to recognize the reality that the people there didn't want the Navy is there, and they weren't likely to approve the referendum, and get on with the serious search for some kind of alternative for the Navy training -- Donna.

KELLEY: Jamie, the president said, within a reasonable time he would like for the services to find another place. Have any names come up? Any areas come up that they're thinking about?

MCINTYRE: Well, no; the Navy continues to insist that it's looked at all the alternatives, and none of them work. But obviously they're going to have to come up with something.

For instance, if they had lost the referendum, they would have to come up with something. I mean, there are some other expensive alternatives: building off-sea (sic) platforms, trying to find other islands, training overseas. But the Navy insists that there are no good alternatives; but, of course, they have no choice. Now they're going to have to find something.

KELLEY: Our military affairs correspondent Jamie McIntyre, thank you.

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