Hasta la vista, baby?" Always be careful what you ask for; you just may
> get it!
>
> One of the many headaches that the US 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 gun fire
> exercises that had taken place on the largely uninhabited island for
> nearly seventy years.
>
> Liberal icons got together 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 and
> Newsweek. They included the Reverend Al Sharpton, Mrs. Jesse Jackson,
> Joan Baez, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Edward Olomos, 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
> waving Puerto Rican flags and placards that read "US Navy, get out of
> Puerto Rico."
>
> The following Feb., 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 US 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 Wurttemburg 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?"
>
> Ain't it nice to see a government with guts and a good memory? What fun!
>
> GOD BLESS AMERICA! AND ALL CHIPPER'S = SKIP LIFE MEMBER LM-4338-88