|
|
Hasta La Vista
Hasta la vista to one and all , redeem and let them cry!! Hasta la vista, Auf
Wiedersehen. Always be careful what you ask for, you just may get it!! One of
the many headaches that the U. S. has had was the Puerto Rican Island of Vieques.
In the waning years of the Clinton administration, Protesters demanded that the
US Navy abandon bombing and naval gunfire exercises that had taken place on the
largely uninhabited island for nearly seventy years. Liberal icons bumped into
one another to fly to Puerto Rico, boat over to the island, trespass (but never
on a day that there was an exercise scheduled) and get arrested for the benefit
of the New York Times or Newsweek. They included the Reverend Al Sharpton, Mrs.
Jesse Jackson, Joan Baez, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Edward Olmos, Michael Moore
and Ramsey Clark, just to name a few.
In 2002, the bombing exercises were transferred to an Air Force bombing range in
central Florida, not far from the Jacksonville and Pensacola Naval Air Stations.
In January, many of the protesters were back in Puerto Rico, celebrating the
final bombing exercise on Vieques and waved Puerto Rican flags and placards that
read "U.S. Navy, get out of Puerto Rico."
The following February, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced that the
U.S. Navy will close the Roosevelt Roads Naval Air Station in Puerto Rico in
2004, eliminating 1200 civilian jobs as well as 700 military positions. This
naval facility is estimated to put nearly $300 million annually into the local
economy. The next day a stunned Governor, Sila Calderon, held a news conference
in San Juan, protesting the base closure as a serious blow to Commonwealth's
fragile economy, the governor stated that
"The people of Puerto Rico don't now or never did have an interest in closing
the Vieques bombing range or the Roosevelt Roads naval base. We are interested
in both staying in Puerto Rico"
When asked, the Commander-in Chief, Western Atlantic Command, said, "Without
Vieques, I see no further need for the facility at Roosevelt Roads. None."
So, Yanqui go home? Fine. But we'll take our dollars with us. Hasta la vista,
baby!
On February 21, the Secretary of Defense also announced that starting this year,
the U.S. European Command would begin moving most if not all of its active
combat and support units from bases in Germany to others being established in
Poland, The Czech Republic, Hungary and Turkey to "better position them for
rapid deployment to likely hot spots in those parts of the world". Immediately
the business and government leaders in the German states of Hesse, Rhineland and
Wurttemberg, protested the loss of nearly $6 billion in revenue each year from
the bases and manpower to be displaced. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry
speculated that the move may be "what the Americans call 'payback' for the
actions of this government in opposing military action in Iraq."
Does anyone know the German translation for "Hasta la vista, baby?"
Oh, ain't it nice to see a government with guts and a good memory. What fun!
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
|
