[Peace-discuss] vieques

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

U.S. Navy Begins Vieques Cleanup
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 
Filed at 11:07 p.m. ET

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- The U.S. Navy has torn down wooden barracks and 
observation towers at its Vieques bombing range as it prepares to withdraw 
after years of local protests, officials said Wednesday.

For decades, the U.S. Navy has conducted training on the outlying island off 
Puerto Rico's east coast in preparation for international conflicts from 
Korea to Afghanistan and Iraq. The last training ended in February.

The Navy says it will withdraw from Vieques by May 1, turning over the 
island's eastern third to the U.S. Department of the Interior and moving 
training to spots in Florida and elsewhere in the U.S. mainland.

The 17 buildings demolished Wednesday were temporary structures, Navy 
spokesman Oscar Seara said.

The Navy has said it will clean up munitions that remain on its bombing range.

Activists say the bombing exercises, which began in 1947, have harmed the 
environment and the health of the island's 9,100 residents. The Navy denies 
the claims.

The training has been criticized by the U.S. territory's leaders since 
off-target bombs killed a civilian guard on the firing range in 1999.