Article

2003-07-21 Home Front

End of live bombing at Vieques makes base, jobs expendable

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Posted by Steve 2003-07-21 11:45:43 AM|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Once everything calms down things will pick back up around Vieques as bird watchers and those seeking solitude will flock, in droves, to the park like setting around that area.

Posted by Lucky 2003-7-21 12:07:55 PM|| 2003-7-21 12:07:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Just be careful where you step.

Posted by Steve 2003-7-21 12:21:54 PM|| 2003-7-21 12:21:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 "...things will pick back up around Vieques as bird watchers and those seeking solitude will flock, in droves, to the park like setting around that area."

Not for a long time. Remember, it was a live fire base; cleaning up unexploded shells will probably take a long time, not to mention a lot of money, and it's specialized work, so the locals won't get much work from it.

Too bad, so sad.... Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

Posted by Barbara Skolaut 2003-7-21 12:24:42 PM|| 2003-7-21 12:24:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Don't worry my Puerto Rican cousins. Al Sharpton will take care of everything for you when he becomes President. Al remembers his friends.

Posted by tu3031 2003-7-21 12:59:51 PM|| 2003-7-21 12:59:51 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 De-mining the area could be interesting. France is still trying to clean up a huge amout of WWI battle Fields. See Aftermath: The Remnants of War by Donovan Webster (originally publilshed in 1996) the first chapter.

Posted by Jim K 2003-7-21 1:04:53 PM|| 2003-7-21 1:04:53 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 So when do they start the protests against the base closing? Will the same "stars" and politicians be attending in order to help all the people whose jobs they caused to evaporate?

Posted by Hodadenon 2003-7-21 1:09:28 PM|| 2003-7-21 1:09:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 The developers were fools anyway. To the best of my knowledge, no ex-firing range has been opened for civilian development. A dud shell fired into marshy ground will penetrate all the way to the bedrock, making it impossible to economically clear the rounds. Even if you were to set some arbitary delay (50 years? 100?), the same environmentalists who wanted the range shut down would block you from building houses on it. I'm not sure I disagree with them. I wouldn't want to be the poor SOB with the house built over the 16-inch shell when it decides to go off.

Posted by 11A5S 2003-7-21 1:36:23 PM|| 2003-7-21 1:36:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 The protesters truly are shocked that the base will close down with the end of the mission. Shoot, they see military bases as jobs programs for the local communities, NOT bases for military units. Just an extension of their belief you can intervene militarily only if there are absolutely no US interests involved to corrupt the issue--Yes to Liberia and no to Iraq, right?

They wanted the base gone--they got it. Live with it.

Posted by BJD (The Dignified Rant) 2003-7-21 1:58:01 PM|| [www.geocities.com/brianjamesdunn/TDRhome.html] 2003-7-21 1:58:01 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 Typical liberal "feel good" solution. Instead of the fight or flight instinct, it's the fight AND flight instinct. Win the fight no matter what the cost and then take to flight when the resulting long term problems start to surface.

What did they think? The navy would still use it just to park their ships and lay on the beach?

The end result was a laugh too as 11A5S pointed out. The greedy developers would have to duke it out with the tree huggers.

I love it when a stupid liberal plan comes together!

Posted by Paul 2003-7-21 2:51:44 PM|| 2003-7-21 2:51:44 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 I am Shocked and Awedâ¢ how our government did the right thing this time, and gave the ~~whiners~~ ~~suckers~~ concerned politicians and public of Puerto Rico exactly what they asked for. One atta-personâ¢ for Uncle Sam!

Posted by Alaska Paul 2003-7-21 2:57:38 PM|| 2003-7-21 2:57:38 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 See? A Compassionate Conservative Governmentâ¢ establishes a wildlife reserve, barring the development of those nasty condos and hotels by the ~~Rapers-Of-The-Land~~ developers and all they get from Serrano, and other "activists" is bitching and moaning...you just can't please some people...heh heh

Posted by Frank G 2003-7-21 3:47:24 PM|| 2003-7-21 3:47:24 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 Hey Viequesians!! Hope you enjoy the peace and quiet, broken only the trilling of song birds as you wait in line at the unemployment office...

Pea brained numbwits.

Posted by Ptah 2003-7-21 4:02:48 PM|| [http://www.crusaderwarcollege.org] 2003-7-21 4:02:48 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 The Navy only bombed the far Eastern tip of the island. The Navy owns both the Western third and the Eastern third of the island. Bad news for developers, though. This land will all become national wildlife refuge! Hah!

That said, Green Beach, Media Luna and the Bioluminescent Bay will still be there and very much worth seeing.

As for quality of life, the Navy hasn't used explosive bombs there in years, so the BOOM factor wasn't an argument.

Too bad 'mainland' Puerto Ricans have to pay for the Viequenses bad attitude.

Roosevelt Roads and Vieques aerial

Posted by Parabellum 2003-7-21 7:31:33 PM|| 2003-7-21 7:31:33 PM|| Front Page Top

10:30 Annoyed
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