Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

United States to End Bombing Exercises on Vieques

Aired June 14, 2001 - 10:04   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In other news this morning, the Navy is expected to make an announcement this morning that will score a direct hit in Puerto Rico. In less than two years, the military will end its bombing exercises on the island of Vieques. Protesters there have been increasingly adamant, but the announcement is likely to ignite outrage of its own. Our military affairs correspondent is Jamie McIntyre and he's at the Pentagon right now with more -- good morning, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

Well, the White House and the Navy's civilian leader will announce today that the Navy is giving up its fight to continue bombing on Vieques once the current agreement there expires in May of 2003. In doing that, the Navy's civilian leadership is overruling the military, who had been pressing the case for continuing in Vieques, counting on a referendum coming up in November to try to win support from the local residents there for a package of economic incentives that would allow the Navy to continue bombing with live ordinance into the future.

But at this point, the Bush administration has decided that that battle is not winnable. They've taken a look at the polls. They say that the military is essentially deluding itself in thinking that it had a chance of winning that referendum, that the battle is basically lost already and that the Navy will now basically have to look for another place to practice, which they would have had to have done anyway if they, in fact, lost this referendum.

Of course, the Navy has been bombing on Vieques, using it as a training range since 1941 when they first began exercises there. Then in 1999, everything changed when a security guard was killed in a bombing accident. That resulted in local residents occupying the base, denying the Navy the use of it for a while until an agreement, which provided for this referendum. But that hasn't stopped the protesters. Just 180 protesters being arrested there in April. And, of course, now the Bush administration has decided to throw in the towel and to allow Vieques to return to the island there and to discontinue exercises, that decision going to be announced today.

The Navy secretary is reportedly going up to the Hill this morning to brief members of Congress. Some conservatives in Congress are upset about giving up the Vieques training range. But the Bush administration will argue, sources say, that it is not a good idea to have national security determined by referendum, that essentially Vieques was lost by the Clinton administration when it agreed to that referendum as a compromise last year -- Leon?

HARRIS: But, Jamie, if I can change directions very quickly, if we can this morning, I understand there is another development with that black beret issue with the Pentagon. What's going on with that?

MCINTYRE: Well, as of today, the black beret is the uniform of the day for the U.S. Army. This, of course, has been a controversial change. The Army chief of staff, General Eric Shinseki, mandated that as a symbol of the transformation of the army that all army soldiers would wear the black beret as their head gear. Up until then it had been only worn by the elite Army Rangers. They are switching now to a tan beret in order to maintain their unique identity.

But as of today, which is the army's 226th birthday, soldiers all around the world in the U.S. Army are now donning their black berets as a symbol of the move ahead for the U.S. Army.

HARRIS: Interesting. And we'll move ahead here this morning. Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you. We'll see you later on.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com