The Iraq War Ain’t Over, No Matter What Obama Says

By Spencer Ackerman from Wired.com

President Obama announced on Friday that all 41,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq will return home by December 31. “That is how America’s military efforts in Iraq will end,” he said. Don’t believe him.

Now: it’s a big deal that all U.S. troops are coming home. For much of the year, the military, fearful of Iranian influence, has sought a residual presence in Iraq of several thousand troops. But arduous negotiations with the Iraqi government about keeping a residual force stalled over the Iraqis’ reluctance to provide them with legal immunity.

But the fact is America’s military efforts in Iraq aren’t coming to an end. They are instead entering a new phase. On January 1, 2012, the State Department will command a hired army of about 5,500 security contractors, all to protect the largest U.S. diplomatic presence anywhere overseas.

The State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security does not have a promising record when it comes to managing its mercenaries. The 2007 Nisour Square shootings by State’s security contractors, in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed, marked one of the low points of the war. Now, State will be commanding a much larger security presence, the equivalent of a heavy combat brigade. In July, Danger Room exclusively reported that the Department blocked the Congressionally-appointed watchdog for Iraq from acquiring basic information about contractor security operations, such as the contractors’ rules of engagement.

That means no one outside the State Department knows how its contractors will behave as they ferry over 10,000 U.S. State Department employees throughout Iraq — which, in case anyone has forgotten,is still a war zone. Since Iraq wouldn’t grant legal immunity to U.S. troops, it is unlikely to grant it to U.S. contractors, particularly in the heat and anger of an accident resulting in the loss of Iraqi life.

It’s a situation with the potential for diplomatic disaster. And it’s being managed by an organization with no experience running the tight command structure that makes armies cohesive and effective.

You can also expect that there will be a shadow presence by the CIA, and possibly the Joint Special Operations Command, to hunt persons affiliated with al-Qaida. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has conspicuously stated that al-Qaida still has 1,000 Iraqi adherents, which would make it the largest al-Qaida affiliate in the world.

So far, there are three big security firms with lucrative contracts to protect U.S. diplomats. Triple Canopy, a longtime State guard company, has a contract worth up to $1.53 billion to keep diplos safe as they travel throughout Iraq. Global Strategies Group will guard the consulate at Basra for up to $401 million. SOC Incorporated will protect the mega-embassy in Baghdad for up to $974 million. State has yet to award contracts to guard consulates in multiethnic flashpoint cities Mosul and Kirkuk, as well as the outpost in placid Irbil.

“We can have the kind of protection our diplomats need,” Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough told reporters after Obama’s announcement. Whether the Iraqi people will have protection from the contractors that the State Department commands is a different question. And whatever you call their operations, the Obama administration hopes that you won’t be so rude as to call it “war.”

Japan questions 'kindness budget': Frustrations run deep in Okinawa over U.S. presence

Japan questions 'kindness budget': Frustrations run deep in Okinawa over U.S. presence

February 7, 2010
Guam PDN

GINOWAN, Japan (AP) -- In a country where land is a precious commodity, many U.S. bases in Japan boast golf courses, football fields and giant shopping malls whose food courts offer everything from Taco Bell to Subway and Starbucks.

They are the most visible point of grievance in a sharpening debate about the cost to Japan of supporting the 47,000 American service members here -- about $2 billion a year. That's about three times what Germany pays to host U.S. forces on its soil.

But facing economic woes and seeking a more equal relationship with the U.S., Japan's new reformist government is questioning whether it should spend so much on U.S. troops -- a topic that was taboo under the pro-Washington administrations that governed Japan for most of the post-World War II era.

The scrutiny in Japan, Washington's deep-pocketed ally and most important strategic partner in Asia, comes at a bad time for the U.S., whose defense budget is already spread thin in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Japanese call their share a "kindness budget," implying the U.S. is getting a free ride, and its opponents say it is rife with waste. The opposition also reflects a long-standing feeling, particularly on the left, that the U.S. is taking its security alliance with Japan too much for granted.

The alliance has come under intense pressure since Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama took office last September. He says the alliance remains a "keystone" of Japanese policy, but he wants to reevaluate it.

"This will be a very important year for our relationship," he said last month.
The flash point of the debate is the southern island of Okinawa, where most of the nearly 100 U.S. facilities in Japan are located.

Futenma airfield, where several thousand Marines are stationed, was to have been moved from the town of Ginowan to Nago, in a less crowded part of the island. But that plan came into doubt last month after Nago elected a mayor who opposes having the base.

At the same time, the U.S. is shifting about 8,000 troops from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam and expects Japan to pay an estimated $6 billion of the moving costs.

The frustrations run deep in cramped Ginowan. Local media regularly run images of the golf course at nearby Kadena Air Base and criticize the forces relentlessly whenever a service member is involved in a local crime.

"When people who live in crowded areas in small houses drive by and see the situation on the bases, some feel angry," said Hideki Toma, an official dealing with the bases on Okinawa.

"This is a bigger issue than the golf courses and free highway passes," Toma said. "It goes back to the fact that Okinawa was occupied after World War II and why the bases have to be here in the first place."

That sentiment is widely shared, and underscores a feeling that the bases should be spread out more evenly among Japan's main islands and Okinawa. Okinawa was one of the bloodiest battlefields of World War II, and Okinawans feel that the continued U.S. presence places an uneven burden on them, though the argument that all U.S. forces should leave Japan is not popular.

American officials say the deployment in Japan of troops, fighter jets and the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier based outside the U.S. has enabled Japan to hold down its own defense costs in line with its pacifist constitution.

They say the U.S. presence also prevents an arms race in east Asia, acts as a deterrent against North Korea, and counters the rise of China.

Facilities such as on-base golf courses represent a small fraction of the sum U.S. taxpayers chip in for the defense of Japan -- about $3.9 billion a year, according to a U.S. State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the details.

"There is no difference in the facilities that our forces have here than they have anywhere else in the world, including the United States," Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, the commander of the U.S Army's Pacific Forces, told The Associated Press. "But we cannot view forces that are out here simply as Japan. They are in Asia; they are available for responsive deployment."

Japan covers much of the cost for supporting American troops, including utilities, maintenance and physical upgrades plus the wages of tens of thousands of Japanese civilians working on the bases.

Previous governments were too willing to pay because they wanted to maintain a special relationship with the United States, said Eiichi Hoshino, professor of international relations at the University of the Ryukyus.

"Japan had kept paying the kindness budget simply because it is the one that wanted the U.S. forces to stay," he said. "If the United States wants to stay here at any cost, it should be the one who is paying."

Youth take active role in DEIS talks

Youth take active role in DEIS talks

Friday, 29 January 2010 00:37
by Tiffany Sukola | Variety News Staff

WHILE efforts have been made to help island residents sift through the highly technical information contained in the draft environmental impact statement, a major chunk of Guam’s population has been entirely left out of the conversation.

“Everyone talks about how local businesses and government agencies will benefit from the buildup,” said Academy of our Lady of Guam junior Nicole Limtiaco. “But what about the youth, how will we benefit?”

Despite being labeled as naïve and apathetic by some, hundreds of Guam’s youth attended the two-day Tourism Education Council youth summit, to prove that they too have concerns about an increased military presence.

Inevitable growth

“The island is going to grow regardless of the military buildup,” said TEC chairman Robert Hofmann. “These kids are going to be the island’s workforce post-buildup.”

Hofmann said because the buildup will shape the island and the economy that today’s youth will live and work in, it is vital that all of Guam’s youth take part in the discussions o the draft impact study.

Jared Fuentes, a George Washington High School junior, said he was especially concerned about the future of the island’s tourism industry.

“The [draft report] says that nearly 39 acres of coral in Apra Harbor will be dredged,” said Fuentes. “Tourists are not going to want to visit Guam anymore if there are no more natural resources.”

Fuentes added that fewer visitors to Guam also meant fewer jobs for his generation.

Students from the island’s various public and private schools spent the two days openly discussing the impact of the military buildup with government officials, tourism experts and local economists.

According to Hofmann, this is the first time that buildup discussions have been directed towards the island’s youth.

Limtiaco said that before the summit, the only information she had received about the draft study had been in news reports and listening to her parents and teachers discuss the pros and cons.

Right direction

Allowing youth her age to participate was a step in the right direction, giving Guam’s youth a chance to figure out for themselves how they feel about the upcoming military buildup.

“I hope they see that this could be a good thing,” said Limtiaco. “I welcome the opportunities that come with the buildup.”

Limtiaco said that with more education and career opportunities that would come with the buildup, more of Guam’s youth would be enticed to stay on island versus moving to the mainland U.S. to get those opportunities.

“I plan on going to college off-island because the opportunities are better there,” said Limtiaco.

Competitive work force

However, if Guam takes the military buildup as a chance to enhance its educational institutions and offer a competitive workforce than more of her peers would be happy to stay on island.

“It’s just really important to get involved,” said Limtiaco, adding that the 11,000-page document should not stop the island’s youth from engaging in the commenting process.

Hofmann added that the main concern most students had about the military buildup, was if there would be enough natural resources, such as water and efficient dumps, to sustain the island even after the buildup occurs.

Report: Japan suspends talks on future of U.S. base on Okinawa

Report: Japan suspends talks on future of U.S. base on Okinawa

By Blaine Harden
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, December 8, 2009 7:15 AM

SEOUL -- A rift between the United States and Japan over the future of a military air station on Okinawa widened Tuesday, as Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told Japanese media that talks on relocating the base have been suspended.

The report offers additional evidence that the newly elected government of Japan is uncomfortable with the military footprint of the United States. Most of the 36,000 U.S. forces in Japan are based on the southern island of Okinawa.

Japan may ask the United States to mitigate the military's impact on the daily life of Okinawans before reaching a conclusion on what to do about the disputed air station, chief cabinet secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Tuesday.

"The biggest priority for the Japanese side is to reduce burdens on the people of Okinawa,'' he said at a news conference.

Asked if the U.S. government could comment on the reported suspension of U.S.-Japan talks about the air base, a spokesman for the American Embassy in Tokyo said, "No."

During his visit to Tokyo last month, President Obama and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama set up a "high-level working group" to resolve the dispute about the location of the Futenma Marine air station, which is located in a densely populated part of Okinawa and has become a symbol of the noise, pollution and crime that many Japanese associate with the U.S. military presence.

But the group's meetings were inconclusive and have been suspended, with no resumption set, Okada said at a press conference, according to the Kyodo news agency.

"We are now waiting to see whether we should hold the discussions again," said Okada, who is a member of the working group, as is U.S. Ambassador John Roos.

After the group's last meeting, on Friday, U.S. officials had said that they expected there would be more negotiating sessions.

Japan and the United States agreed in 2006, as part of a $26 billion plan to move U.S. troops off and around Okinawa, that the Futenma air station would be moved to a new site on the island.

But Hatoyama, who was elected in August on a promise that he would be more assertive than previous Japanese leaders in dealing with the United States, has said he wants the air station moved off Okinawa altogether -- possibly out of the country.

In recent weeks, mixed signals from his government about the future of the air station have frustrated the Obama administration. Obama said that the working group the two created would merely "implement" the existing agreement from 2006, but Hatoyama later said that unless the working group had the power to renegotiate the agreement, its meetings were pointless.

Since then, a number of the prime minister's statements on the base issue have been confusing or contradictory. He said last week that the issue need not be decided soon, then he said perhaps the air station should move to Guam and then he said the issue should be decided soon.

His statement to reporters Tuesday -- "We've come fairly close to a saturation point,'' he said -- was especially vague, and Japanese officials continued to act in ways that could be seen as contradictory.

First, the government approved the allocation of funds to pay for commitments Japan made in its 2006 agreement with the United States over moving American bases and troops, including the relocation of the Marine air field on Okinawa and the transfer of 8,000 Marines from the island to Guam.

But later Hirano, the senior spokesman for Hatoyama, suggested that United States will have to reduce base-hosting burdens on the island before Japan can agree to sort out the air-station issue.

Japanese officials said that Hatoyama may try to meet with Obama next week at the Copenhagen climate conference to discuss the base issue.

Hatoyama is facing a possible revolt by a coalition partner whose votes he needs to pass legislation in the upper house of parliament. The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Mizuho Fukushima, said last week her party might quit the coalition if Hatoyama honors the deal to keep the air station on Okinawa.

The new prime minister is also troubled by declining popularity and an economy at risk of a double-dip recession. To avoid a return to recession, his government on Tuesday agreed to spend $81 billion in new stimulus efforts.

Hatoyama's approval ratings dipped below 60 percent in a newspaper poll released Monday, as many of those polled criticized the prime minister for indecision on the base issue.

Trim East Asia presence, US urged

Trim East Asia presence, US urged

Monday, 23 November 2009
BY LLANESCA T. PANTI REPORTER

TOKYO: The United States should consider reducing its military presence in the East Asian region, an official said here over the weekend. According to Kazuo Kodama, spokesman for Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United States would still be capable of ensuring security in the region even if it realigned its forces because it possesses strategic weapons.

His advice came at a time when Japan was reviewing an agreement with the US on Washington’s bases stationed in Okinawa and pushing for a US bases relocation roadmap.

“Even if they [US] transferred the bases or realigned the deployment in nearby countries, let’s say outside Okinawa or even outside Japan such as in Guam, they could still easily respond to the security concerns of the nearby countries whenever needed because they are well-equipped,” Kodama told Asian journalists.

Like Japan, the Philippines used to host US bases until the Philippine Senate voted against it in 1991. The absence of US forces, however, did not last a decade when Manila entered into a Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with Washington in 1999.

The VFA allows US troops to train and advise the Philippine military in its fight against terrorism, but it prohibits participation of US forces in combat operations.

It also lets deployment of US forces to Mindanao under the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, which provides immediate medical assistance to Filipino soldiers who are wounded in the battlefield.

Communist and separatist insurgencies in southern Philippines have lingered for nearly four decades.

Kodama disclosed that US bases in Okinawa are located near shopping malls and as such, have become a burden for Okinawans.

“We want to reduce American footprint by relocating the US bases since [the bases] have become dangerous for the people. Japan thinks that the time has come to explore that possibility,” he said.

In the case of the Philippines, the VFA drew flak when US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was initially found guilty of raping a Filipino woman known only as “Nicole” in 2006. Smith was briefly detained in a Philippine jail before being transferred in the US Embassy in Manila. He was later acquitted by the Philippines’ Court of Appeals in April 2009 and is believed to have returned to the US.

Kodama, however, stressed that Japan, as well as the rest of the East Asian region, still needs US forces for security.

He cited North Korea’s nuclear power and continued missile tests and territorial disputes such as those between China and Russia and between China and Taiwan.

“The deployment of US forces in East Asia helps in maintaining security and stability. We do not dispute that statement. Let us not forget that the ‘Cold War’ is not yet over here,” Kodama said.

A tale of three cities

A tale of three cities

Thursday, 19 November 2009 04:07
by Mar-Vic Cagurangan | Variety News Staff

First of a two-part series

IT is the best of times, it is the worst of times. Such juxtaposition commonly characterizes Guam, El Paso and Olongapo City, which all have faced the challenges to beat the bane and reap the boon of military presence in their communities.

Dealing with the requirements and impact of the corresponding population surge that comes with military expansion requires flexibility. But, obviously, the situation calls for more than the right attitude toward major transformation because it also brings with it confusion and uncertainties.

“The impending military buildup has excited many inside and outside our community, but many also fear the impacts this buildup will have on our social, cultural and environmental resources,” said Frank Campillo, outgoing chairman of the Guam Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.

“I am not one who dismisses the fears but I also believe that the future opportunities outweigh the potential adversities,” he added.

Guam is tasked by the United States to accommodate 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa under the still uncertain $15 billion armed forces relocation agreement with Japan. With no firm commitment from the federal government that the cost of building infrastructures will be federally subsidized, Guam is left scrambling for resources to meet the demands of the population explosion.

*Early planning*

El Paso stands apart from Guam in the aspect of preparation, which promptly commenced when the Pentagon started planning the Bases Realignment and Closure process. “We did some impact economic study ahead of time. We believe the revenue growth from sales and property tax revenues will be enough to pay for physical infrastructure improvements,” according to Bob Cook, CEO and president of El Paso Regional Economic Development Corp.

As far as federal aid is concerned, Cook said, El Paso has nothing to complain about. “We’re getting great deal of federal assistance; we’re maybe getting 20 to 25 cents on the dollar that is required to meet at the military buildup,” he said.

El Paso, a county in Texas with a population of 736,000, hosts Fort Bliss, home to a U.S. Army post. With the transfer of 20,000 soldiers from different military installations across the U.S., El Paso’s population is projected to increase by 54,000. The armed personnel buildup is about 75 percent complete. Full relocation completion is scheduled between 2012 and 2013.

Adequate infrastructure

“We’re actually doing quite good on the physical infrastructure,” Cook said. “Essentially, our study indicated that we have had the capacity in most infrastructure items like water sewer, electricity and natural gas. We can handle the growth fairly easily.”

The county recently adopted a $1.5 billion transportation improvement plan. “About 25 percent of this transportation investment is related to the buildup,” Cook said.

The weight of the military expansion is mostly felt in the healthcare sector. But this area is also being taken care of, according to Cook. El Paso has stepped up its recruitment of medical and health professionals by adopting a program to offer debt payment incentives medical students.

“If we do nothing for the next four years, we would have a shortage in health personnel of about 4,000,” Cook said. “So were taking steps right now to make sure that we don’t have large gap four years from now.”

Generally, El Paso’s local community is “responding very well to the military buildup,’ Cook said.

Bases closure

Olongapo City is a different story. Located in the province of Zambales, Philippines, the city’s economy was once largely tied to the Navy’s presence in Subic Bay. The Subic area tarted as Spain’s arsenal and ship-repair facility in 1885. Following the Spanish-American war, Subic Bay became a U.S. Navy and Marine base, and grew to become a major military installation until it was shut down in 1991.

By this time, the reverse challenge for then Olongapo City mayor Richard Gordon was to overcome the impact of the U.S. bases’ closure. (To be continued)

Rand Study Suggests US Loses War with China

Rand Study Suggests U.S. Loses War With China
By wendell minnick
Defense News
Published: 16 Oct 11:45 EDT (15:45 GMT)

TAIPEI - A new RAND study suggests U.S. air power in the Pacific would be inadequate to thwart a Chinese attack on Taiwan in 2020. The study, entitled "Air Combat Past, Present and Future," by John Stillion and Scott Perdue, says China's anti-access arms and strategy could deny the U.S. the "ability to operate efficiently from nearby bases or seas."

According to the study, U.S. aircraft carriers and air bases would be threatened by Chinese development of anti-ship ballistic missiles, the fielding of diesel and nuclear submarines equipped with torpedoes and SS-N-22 and SS-N-27 anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs), fighters and bombers carrying ASCMs and HARMs, and new ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

The report states that 34 missiles with submunition warheads could cover all parking ramps at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa.

An "attack like this could damage, destroy or strand 75 percent of aircraft based at Kadena," it says.

In contrast, many Chinese air bases are harder than Kadena, with some "super-hard underground hangers."

To make matters worse, Kadena is the only U.S. air base within 500 nautical miles of the Taiwan Strait, whereas China has 27.

U.S. air bases in South Korea are more than 750 miles distant, and those in Japan are more than 885 miles away. Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, is 1,500 miles away. The result is that sortie rates will be low, with a "huge tanker demand."

The authors suggest China's CETC Y-27 radar, which is similar to Russia's Nebo SVU VHF Digital AESA, could counter U.S. stealth fighter technology. China is likely to outfit its fighters with improved radars and by "2020 even very stealthy targets likely [would be] detectable by Flanker radars at 25+ nm." China is also likely to procure the new Su-35BM fighter by 2020, which will challenge the F-35 and possibly the F-22.

The authors also question the reliability of U.S. beyond-visual-range weapons, such as the AIM-120 AMRAAM. U.S. fighters have recorded only 10 AIM-120 kills, none against targets equipped with the kinds of countermeasures carried by Chinese Su-27s and Su-30s. Of the 10, six were beyond-visual-range kills, and it required 13 missiles to get them.

If a conflict breaks out between China and the U.S. over Taiwan, the authors say it is difficult to "predict who will have had the last move in the measure-countermeasure game."

Overall, the authors say, "China could enjoy a 3:1 edge in fighters if we can fly from Kadena - about 10:1 if forced to operate from Andersen. Overcoming these odds requires qualitative superiority of 9:1 or 100:1" - a differential that is "extremely difficult to achieve" against a like power.

If beyond-visual-range missiles work, stealth technology is not countered and air bases are not destroyed, U.S. forces have a chance, but "history suggests there is a limit of about 3:1 where quality can no longer compensate for superior enemy numbers."

A 24-aircraft Su-27/30 regiment can carry around 300 air-to-air missiles (AAMs), whereas 24 F-22s can carry only 192 AAMs and 24 F-35s only 96 AAMs.

Though current numbers assume the F-22 could shoot down 48 Chinese Flankers when "outnumbered 12:1 without loss," these numbers do not take into account a less-than-perfect U.S. beyond-visual-range performance, partial or complete destruction of U.S. air bases and aircraft carriers, possible deployment of a new Chinese stealth fighter around 2020 or 2025, and the possible use of Chinese "robo-fighters" to deplete U.S. "fighters' missile loadout prior to mass attack."

The authors write that Chinese counter stealth, anti-access, countermissile technologies are proliferating and the U.S. military needs "a plan that accounts for this."

Guam: Permanent Aircraft Carrier

The Australian
National security editor Patrick Walters | June 14, 2008
THE US is building a new permanent aircraft carrier and its name is
GUAM .

The US island territory is destined to become the key hub for American maritime power in the western Pacific with the start of a long, $15 billion construction boom. The strategic importance of Guam to Washington 's long-term presence in East Asia was a point hammered home by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in Singapore a fortnight ago. Gates's speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual gathering of Asian defence ministers and military chiefs, was his most complete exposition of future US defence strategy in the region since he took over from Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon 18 months ago. Gates's key theme to his East Asian interlocutors was that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, the US was not about to begin a long, slow, historic withdrawal from the region. Instead he outlined the concept of the US as a "resident power" in addition to its longstanding roles as an ally, partner, friend and routine offshore presence.

Critical to its long-term focus as a resident power will be Guam , the site of the largest US military build-up in the Mariana Islands since World War II. As the Pentagon chief pointed out, sovereign US territory in the western Pacific stretches all the way from the Aleutian Islands to Guam .

For US defence planners aiming for a nimbler, more flexible US global military posture across the globe, Guam is an ideal staging post. And for close allies of the US in the western Pacific, led by Japan and Australia , the island promises to become a vital facility as it hosts exercises and training with allied air and naval forces.

Earlier this month en route to Singapore , Gates made a flying visit to the island, 6000km west of Hawaii and 2000km southeast of Japan, to look at planned defence infrastructure. Acquired from Spain in 1898 following the Spanish-American War, Guam became a refuelling station for the US Navy. In December 1941, Japan overran the island, but it was recaptured by US forces after bitter fighting in 1944. Since then it has been an important logistics base.

During the next six years the Pentagon will spend billions on a new port capable of berthing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, air bases, schools, hospitals and houses for US military and their families.

Guam's Anderson air base will soon be home to a detachment of unmanned, long-range Global Hawk surveillance aircraft able to track Chinese warships and submarines emerging from their home ports into the Pacific Ocean or the South China Sea . The US Air Force's newest fighter, the F-22 Raptor, will also be periodically flying on exercises from the island.

By 2014 Guam will receive about 8000 US marines who will transfer from their present base in Okinawa , the Japanese Government helping pay the $10 billion-plus relocation costs. With a population of about 170,000, Guam is already home to 12,000 US military personnel and the heavy build-up promises to put further strain on local communities. Its naval base hosts three attack submarines and the air force rotates its strategic bombers through Guam .

"Our Asian friends, whether or not they are formally allied to us, welcome our growing presence on Guam . As the island's new facilities take shape in coming years, they will be increasingly multilateral in orientation, with training opportunities and possible pre-positioning of assets," Gates said in Singapore . Gates's Shangri-La Dialogue speech was designed to convey a message of reassurance to the US 's close allies in East Asia that talk of the gradual diminution of the US 's military posture in the face of a renascent China was misplaced.

Questioned how the US could guarantee that it would not lose interest in Asia , Gates was blunt: "We will not lose interest because we are an Asian power," he said. "People would have been surprised, perhaps, in 1945 to see the US , 60 years later, still engaged in a larger way and a broader front in Asia than we were even at the end of the war ... nobody should have any worries on that score."

The Defence Secretary argues forcefully Washington 's presence has been an essential element in assisting Asia 's economic revival, "opening doors, protecting and preserving common spaces on the high seas, in space and more and more in the cyber world".

"This presence has offered other nations the crucial element of choice and enabled their entry into a globalised international society," he said. "As someone who has served seven US presidents, I want to convey to you with confidence that any future US administration's Asia security policy is going to be grounded in the fact that the United States remains a nation with strong and enduring interests in the region, interests that will endure no matter which political party occupies the White House next year."

Gates went on to say that any speculation in the region about the US losing interest in Asia struck him as "preposterous or disingenuous, or both"." America 's status in Asia rests on longstanding interests and deeply held notions about the basic character of the United States . However, we understand that our friends, partners and allies need reassurance at times. We will offer that consistently."

He stressed US military ties with East Asia , even with its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan , were more constructive than at any time in US history.

Recently Gates inaugurated a direct defence phone hotline with his Chinese counterpart, Liang Guanglie, and the two sides have also begun regular dialogues on strategic issues to improve bilateral co-operation.

Last week Liang thanked the US for its relief aid sent to China 's Sichuan province and said there had been "stable progress" on defence ties between the Beijing and Washington .

In Singapore , Gates - in an implicit reference to China - stressed the US wanted to work with every Asian country and "deepen our understanding of their military and defence finances and larger national security decisions".

"We do so in a sincere and open effort to avoid misreading intentions and so that we can continue our work as strategic partners," he said to an audience that included Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of China 's People's Liberation Army. Gates did not give any hint that he had been briefed in advance on Kevin Rudd's novel concept of an Asia-Pacific community by 2020. He said Washington welcomed the search for a new security architecture and frameworks that could moderate interstate competition. But the Pentagon did have some benchmarks. East Asia should avoid an approach that treated the quest for a new security body as some kind of zero-sum game.

According to Gates it can only succeed if the region is treated as a single entity with no room for a separate East Asian order. That means the US must be part of any new security framework.

Washington would be willing to work with friends and partners to assist the evolution of "security arrangements suitable to common needs", he said. The clear message was that the US would be there to help shape any new longer-term Asian-Pacific security forum.

"We certainly share an interest in institutionalising various forums to deal with region-specific problems and we intend to participate in their evolution," was Gates's parting message.

The Okinawa Factor

THE OKINAWA FACTOR
Love-hate ties bind Okinawans, U.S. military
Islanders forge enduring relationships with American personnel but are angered by crimes
By TAKUYA ASAKURA
The Japan Times

Sixth in an occasional series Staff writer OKINAWA CITY, Okinawa Pref. -- Many former American soldiers who once stayed at the Diego Hotel near the U.S. Kadena Air Base here regard the hotel's manager with a reverence usually reserved for their own mothers.

Yet they are probably unaware of some of the bitter memories harbored by the 71-year-old Takako Miyagi.

Miyagi said she just received another call from a former American guest who stayed at the hotel about 25 years ago and still refers to her as "Mama-san."

She said she remembers the homesick soldier sobbing on the stairs of the hotel after the Vietnam War.

He has called her almost every year since he returned to the U.S., although Miyagi said she does not understand his English very well.

Despite the bloody confrontation with U.S. forces, Okinawa's postwar occupation and problems involving U.S. military personnel even after its reversion to Japan, many residents of Okinawa have built warm friendships with U.S. soldiers over the past half century.

Some outsiders are puzzled therefore when this apparent affability is offset by the islanders' explicit anger toward members of the U.S. military over various crimes and misdemeanors.

Okinawans say, however, that these two faces constitute no contradiction given the history of the prefecture, which has always been forced to pander to the whims of Tokyo and Washington.

Miyagi has never forgotten April 2, 1945 -- the day after the U.S. forces landed on the main island.

Before dawn, Miyagi, then 14 and staying in an underground shelter, was told a shocking piece of news by her aunt.

While trying to lay their hands on some food, her mother and grandfather had been shot by American soldiers who had occupied their home.

Miyagi immediately set out from the shelter with her grandmother on a rescue mission.

"I was too young to be scared," she said. "And I was taught that the Japanese army was strong and Japan always wins."

She later learned that the Imperial Japanese Army had already retreated in the face of the U.S. landing.

As the pair approached the house, Miyagi's grandmother was shot dead.

Fortunately, Miyagi managed to hide under a bush and was not spotted by U.S. troops. She spent the whole day under the bush, holding her breath.

After darkness fell, Miyagi ran back to the shelter, bullets whizzing past her head.

When she finally reached the dugout where her young brother and relatives were waiting, she burst into tears.

Miyagi could not recover the bodies of her mother and grandparents. She instead retrieved pebbles from the ground where they were killed and placed them in their graves instead of ashes.

During the final throes of World War II, Okinawans were forced to sacrifice themselves to defend the Japanese mainland. Okinawa eventually lost about a quarter of its population in the ensuing battles.

"That is how the citizens of Okinawa fought," wrote Rear Adm. Minoru Ota of the Imperial Japanese Navy in his final telegram to Tokyo before his suicide. "(I hope they) are granted special consideration in the future."

During the postwar U.S. rule of Okinawa, Miyagi, like many Okinawans in the central part of the island, initially had no choice but to work on a U.S. base.

That was until she opened the Diego Hotel in 1958 with her late husband.

And yet, she said, she did not mind serving members of the U.S. military.

"Individual soldiers were not responsible (for the death of my family)," she said, adding that she does not know why she feels this way.

"We were tamed by them as they gave us food when we had nothing."

During the Vietnam War, she shined U.S. soldiers' muddy shoes when they returned from the battlefields on leave.

The young soldiers looked sad when they were sent back to Vietnam.

"I was sad because they looked so sad," she said.

"I like them personally" was a common answer uttered by many Okinawans when asked for their views on U.S. soldiers.

Many Okinawans viewed the American soldiers as being frank, easygoing and family-loving -- traits generally shared by Okinawans themselves.

Discontent over human rights infringements suffered under U.S. military rule was smoldering, however, among the local populace.

Instead of the "special consideration" specified by Adm. Ota, Tokyo approved U.S. rule of Okinawa under the 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty.

A 1947 letter sent by Emperor Showa to the General Headquarters of the Allied Forces also shows that he hoped the United States would continue its military occupation of Okinawa to defend both Japan and the U.S. from the threat posed by the Soviet Union.

During 27 years of U.S. military rule, private property was confiscated and used for military facilities, while residents suffered violence and fatal accidents at the hands of U.S. service personnel.

Local police officers were powerless to counter the latter.

In December 1970, a minor car accident involving members of the U.S. military and a local man in Koza -- known today as Okinawa City -- led to an unprecedented riot.

A throng of local people surrounded the American driver, his passengers and military police who tried to clear the scene, accusing them of trying to evade charges.

Incidents of vandalism were triggered by warning shots fired by the MPs, with locals burning some 80 vehicles owned by Americans throughout the night.

This flash point came a week after a military court had acquitted an American service member of fatally running over a local woman in his car while drinking and breaking the speed limit.

The victim had eight children and had long looked after her sick husband.

In addition to the thousands of traffic accidents caused by U.S. service personnel, local police in 1970 were thwarted by the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement when they tried to arrest a U.S. soldier who brutally raped and stabbed a local high school girl.

Ko Yoshioka, a photographer who witnessed the vandalism in Koza, said it was "a struggle for Okinawans to retrieve their pride as humans."

Many people here still talk about the riot with pride.

This is partly because the frenzied rioters somehow retained some semblance of discipline, only burning vehicles carrying yellow license plates that identified them as being owned by U.S. service personnel.

Author Chihiro Isa, who depicted the riot scenes in his award-winning book "Enjo" ("Burning,") described the riot as a "one-night feast."

This was because the rioters vanished before dawn and returned to the world of U.S. rule the next day.

Okinawa's reversion to Japanese rule came about shortly after the riot. In contrast to the expectations of Okinawans, however, most of the U.S. bases remained and their green lawns still stretch through the central part of the prefecture even today.

The number of brutal crimes and tragic accidents involving military personnel gradually decreased after the 1972 reversion, but Japanese authorities are still bound by the SOFA treaty.

About a decade after the reversion, Isa remembers that an editor employed by a major Tokyo publisher asked him why Okinawans could not understand that Japan's prosperity -- including that of Okinawa -- is founded on the Japan-U.S. security alliance.

"Why don't you say it at a bar in Naha?" he responded.

"Whom do you think you owe for what you call economic prosperity? Isn't it the people on the mainland who rest on the sacrifice of Okinawa citizens?"

The anger and frustrations of Okinawans exploded again in 1995, when a 12-year-old girl was kidnapped and raped by three American soldiers.

The U.S. military refused at that time to hand over suspects to Japanese authorities before indictment under SOFA.

Tokyo has repeatedly shrugged off pleas by Okinawa for revisions to the bilateral agreement.

"Please give us back the quiet Okinawa, the island without military, and without tragedy," said Sugako Nakamura, then a senior at Ginowan High School near Futenma Air Station, to nearly 80,000 residents who gathered at the city's beach park in 1995 to protest the rape.

Nakamura said that she was chosen to represent Okinawa high school students at the rally accidentally.

She also appears in the documentary "Guntai no Nai Kuni" ("A Country Without Military,"), centering on Costa Rica, which has abandoned its own military since 1949. The film is now touring independent cinemas across the nation.

"I was just curious if the 'country without military' is really possible," she said, citing the reason behind her decision to accept the offer to appear in the film.

Nakamura used to live near the air station.

"Your television cannot be heard on full volume" while helicopters fly in formation, she said.

People on the mainland say the U.S. bases are there to bolster the "bilateral alliance" and "peace in the region," but Nakamura feels such views are phony.

"There are all kinds of opinions among the people of Okinawa, too," she said. "But at least there is no one who feels that they are protected by U.S. bases."

In fact, she added, many people on the mainland have canceled their trips to Okinawa, fearing terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Though Nakamura personally feels a distance between herself and activists who shake their fists and shout loud antimilitary slogans, she understands why people must adopt such confrontational positions to get their voices heard.

"We have no choice but to obey what the Japanese government and people on the mainland decide," she said.

"There are a lot of grandpas and grandmas in Okinawa still suffering pain from their experiences in the war. I wish we could bring back the islands of peace while they are alive."

The Japan Times: Thursday, May 16, 2002

Expansion Planes Outlined for Military on Guam

Official outlines Guam expansion plans
By Teri Weaver, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The Navy communications base at the northern end of Guam will be the new headquarters for 8,000 U.S. Marines headed for the island in coming years, according to the retired general in charge of directing the military expansion.

The base — Naval and Communications Station Guam — will eventually be home for much of the housing, administration and operations buildings for the III Marine Expeditionary Force, scheduled to move from Okinawa starting in 2012, according to retired Marine Maj. Gen. David Bice.

“We would expect the first elements could arrive in 2012,” said Bice, the executive director of the Joint Project Office. “The goal is to have the full operational ability in 2014.”

Bice was on the island last week to meet with local leaders and to narrow down a list of “preferred alternative” sites for the future homes, schools, training areas and other facilities needed for the nearly 40,000 new military personnel and family members planned for Guam.

The overall plan, still awaiting budget approval from Congress, includes the Marines from Okinawa as well as expanded Army and Navy units on the island.

Army officials also were on Guam last week to look for a future home for an air defense station, Bice said during a telephone interview.

It’s still uncertain whether the military can complete the total expansion within its existing footprint on the island, Bice said. The Marines’ training ground will likely be on “Anderson South” a part of Andersen Air Force Base on the northern end of Guam.

But other needs could fall outside current fence lines, he said.

“We’re still evaluating what, if any, additional functions that might not necessarily fit on DOD properties,” Bice said. “It’s kind of like a puzzle.”

For example, the military may need additional land to create more ranges, which require a buffer zone between the firing area and civilian property.

Military officials are also working to determine larger training sites throughout the Marianas, Bice said. Training areas on the nearby islands will support the Marines on Guam, but will also be training sites for troops from Okinawa, Alaska, Hawaii and other countries, Bice said.

Bice’s office will offer a draft master plan in March, followed by a working-level plan next summer.

The goal is to have engineering plans firm by February 2009, the beginning of budget planning for fiscal year 2010, he said.

DID

The Defense Industry Daily on Guam.

Palau President Does Not Want Permanent Military Presence

Remengesau not advocating permanent US presence
Thursday, November 1, 2007
By Bernadette H. Carreon
Horizon news staff

President Remengesau said that it is not advocating a permanent United States military presence in Palau.

He said however that although that there has not been a formal agreement, he said Palau can be used for military training.

Remengesau said that the United States is still involved with the logistics on the planned relocation of the bases in Guam from Okinawa.

The president said the US considering training in Palau will be good for the region.

“We welcome them, but I am not advocating for the permanent presence of the military in Palau,” the president said.

Under the Compact of Free Association, Palau is obligated to cooperate with the US on military issues.

He said a small scale exercise will help boost tourism of Palau and at the same time improve security matters.

He said inviting the US to hold field training will not mean he is supporting a US base in the country.

Earlier Remengesau said that he hopes that Palau reap economic benefits from the US military buildup.

Veteran Seeks Agent Orange Probe

Veteran seeks probe into Agent Orange use in Guam
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff
August 9, 2007

A RETIRED airman is seeking a congressional inquiry into the extensive use of Agent Orange in Guam, where he was deployed between 1960 and 1970 as a fuel specialist tasked to mix and spray herbicides at Andersen Air Force Base and surrounding areas.

MSgt. LeRoy G. Foster this week wrote to Reps. Brian M. Higgins, D-NY, and Don Young, R-Ak., asking the congressional leaders to launch the investigation to force the U.S. Department of Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense to acknowledge "the fact that Agent Orange and other herbicides were used on Guam."

"There are other veterans who have written to me asking for my sworn testimony to this fact," Foster stated in the lengthy letter, in which he identified the locations in Guam where he sprayed Agent Orange.

"I believe it is the responsibility of the VA, DoD, Congress, Senate, the White House, and the states to make public the exposure of our servicemen and servicewomen, dependents, residents of Guam and other civil service employees to these chemicals," Foster said.

He also listed names of fellow veterans who have died of cancers as a result of their hazardous duties performed at AAFB from 1960s to 1970s.

Higgins and Young cosponsored the Veteran's Right to Know bill in the 109th Congress, proposing the establishment of a commission that would look into the U.S. military's use of biological agents between 1962 and 1974, and their health effects on those exposed to the toxic chemicals. The 109th Congress, however, adjourned without acting on the bill.

Without an official venue to testify, veterans suffering from diseases as a result of their exposure to defoliants have been crying out for help, sending testimonies to veterans Web sites devoted to Agent Orange contamination, and writing open letters to whoever cares to listen to their pleas for medical assistance.

Guam commission
The 28th Guam Legislature created a local Right to Know Commission based on the congressional bill.

Speaker Mark Forbes, R-Sinajana, who authored the Guam bill, said the commission ―composed of lawmakers, health activists and other representatives from the private sector ― is getting ready to meet soon and gather pertinent testimony.

"This commission will provide the forum where people can testify and submit their testimony," Forbes said.

He said the commission would try to establish the extent to which Agent Orange was used on Guam and determine Guam residents' possible exposure to the chemicals, which the U.S. military used to kill weeds and thin jungles during the Vietnam War.

"It might take a while but we need to get the ball rolling on this issue. We need to start documenting these things," Forbes said, adding that his office will soon send out invitations to commission members.

The Department of Defense has never officially admitted to storing and using Agent Orange and other herbicides on Guam, despite Dow Chemical's earlier report which disclosed a huge amount of dioxin contamination at AAFB.

At least two successful applications for benefit claims filed by veterans deployed to Guam constituted VA's virtual acknowledgement of the use of defoliants on island.

In March this year, the VA approved the benefits claim filed by Robert L. Burgett, a Vietnam War veteran who developed cancer of the larynx, eventually causing his speech disability, as a result of his direct exposure to Agent Orange when he was stationed at AAFB between 1968 and 1969. He received a full grant of benefits.

In 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans ruled in favor of an unidentified airman who was determined to have developed diabetes mellitus as a result of his exposure to defoliants while he was deployed on duty at AAFB from December 1966 to October 1968.

Forbes said the favorable VA decisions obtained by the two veterans set a precedent that could be the commission's starting point.

"If one person's claim for benefits has been approved, then we can take it a step further to establish the fact that Agent Orange was used here," the speaker said. "We're definitely pushing forward with this."

Foster, meanwhile, acknowledges that his request for a congressional inquiry and the veterans' quest for justice and fair compensation might not come soon, but he maintains that the issue must be put forward for public discussion.

"I may not be alive to see the end of this but will give sworn testimony and give any other kind of evidence to our nation, to our state representatives who have the responsibility to defend those servicemen and servicewomen from their states who served with honor who are ill and suffering from past wars, and to the people of the United States of America who I know would demand our government do the right thing by and for our nation's veterans," he stated in his letter to Higgins and Young.

Sprayed areas
Foster has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and arterial disease, which he believes were caused by his direct exposure to the toxic defoliants.

When he was deployed on Guam, Foster's job was to prepare and spray herbicides at AAFB facilities, including fuel tank farms in Tumon Bay, NAS Agana, Tamuning and Yigo, and the cross country pipeline extending from Andersen AFB to NAS Agana and NAS Agana to the Naval Station Underground Fuel Storage facilities near the USO Club on the U.S. Naval base at Agana.

"I sprayed the security fence lines, completely encircling Andy I and II, hydrant storage buildings on the flight line around the flight line area at Andersen AFB, the Quality assurance and Liquid Oxygen buildings and Fuels Administrative offices located within the security fence area of Andy I Fuel Tank Farm," Foster said.

"Within these security fenced areas were storm drains that led directly into the water shed in the northern part of the island," he added.

Attached to Foster's letter to Higgins and Young is another note from a fellow veteran, Richard Spinale, who was stationed at AAFB, where he worked as a civil engineer from October 1966 to April 1968.

In a letter addressed "to whom it may concern," Spinale said he and other servicemen tasked to spray Agent Orange "were not aware that the chemical we were using as a weed killer was dioxin. We were not warned of contamination to our bodies."

"My duties included the maintenance of water pump stations, swimming pools, reservoirs, and deep water wells on Guam most of which were located off base in Guam. When I worked on the air strip, we were in charge of maintaining water pipes that ran across the field of the flight line, and maintenance of valves," Spinale wrote.

He said he also had to spray the foliage on the base to keep the air strip clean for take-off and returning flights.

"We also sprayed around the water pumps that were located off base for accessibility for maintenance and repair. After the spraying was completed, we waited a few days for the foliage to die and then we had to go in and clear the area of the dead foliage," he said.

The chemicals, he said, were stored in 55-gallon drums on the edge of the base. "Many of these barrels showed evidence of leaking and decay," he added.
Agent Orange was used from 1961 to 1971, and was by far the most used of the so-called "rainbow herbicides" utilized by the U.S. military for its herbicidal warfare program during the Vietnam War.

According to chemical experts, degradation of Agent Orange, as well as Agents Purple, Pink and Green released dioxins, which have caused harm to the health of those exposed during the Vietnam War. Agents Blue and White were part of the same program but did not contain dioxins.

Studies of populations exposed to dioxin, though not necessarily Agent Orange, indicate increased risk of various types of cancer and genetic defects.

Since the 1980s, several lawsuits have been filed against the companies that produced Agent Orange, such as Dow Chemical and Diamond Shamrock.

Buffalo Arrives on Guam

USS Buffalo arrives on Guam
By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff
friday, 27 july 07
------------------
THE USS Buffalo, which has been reassigned from Pearl Harbor to Guam, has arrived on island and is set to hold a formal change of command ceremony today.

The fast-attack, Los Angeles-class submarine arrived on Guam July 19 and joins two other submarines homeported on Guam — the USS City of Corpus Christi and the USS Houston.

According to the COMNAVMAR public affairs office, the USS Buffalo’s crew will hold its change-of-command ceremony on U.S. Naval Base Guam today. During the ceremony, Cmdr. Brian Humm will be relieved by Cmdr. Scott Pappano, who recently served at the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

The guest speaker will be Rear Adm. Bill French, commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Marianas.

Humm will report to Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

The USS Buffalo, which now reports to Submarine Squadron 15, is an integral part of the Navy’s ability to provide forward presence and project power around the world.

According to the Navy, the mainstays of her abilities are stealth, speed, endurance, and flexibility and with her state-of-the-art combat systems, she can perform traditional sea control operations as well as stride targets on shore.

The USS Buffalo, the Navy’s 25th Los Angeles-class submarine, has a crew of approximately 130 sailors.

Like other submarines in her class, the USS Buffalo is capable of carrying the most advanced weapons available to the submarine force.

Included in her arsenal are the MK-48 advanced capability torpedo and the Tomahawk land attack cruise missile.

According to the U.S. Naval Forces Public Affairs Office, the relocation of the USS Buffalo maintains the U.S. Navy’s commitment to preserve a forward-deployed presence of three submarines in Guam after the USS San Francisco met an accident in 2005.

US Military Retreats Over Japanese Base After Protests

US military retreats over Japanese base after protests by islanders
By David McNeill in Tokyo
Published: 27 October 2005

The United States has been forced to back down over its plan to build a large offshore military base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa after local protests stalled construction.

Washington and Tokyo had wanted to build a heliport and 1.5-mile runway over pristine coral reef more than a mile offshore, near Heneko village. But the plan enraged many locals on the small island, which already hosts around half of the 37,000 American troops stationed in Japan. Environmentalists joined the opposition to the planned base, saying it would destroy the reef, which is home to the dugong, an endangered species of sea mammal.

Richard Lawless of the US Defence Department said yesterday that a compromise, which will entail moving the new base to nearby Camp Schwab, had been agreed after considering "the importance of the Japan-US alliance".

Tokyo is an important ally in America's "war on terror" and Washington considers Okinawa, which is close to China and North Korea, a vital military lynchpin amid a major realignment of US forces worldwide. Japan contributes more than $1bn (£560m) a year and leases thousands of acres of land to US forces stationed in the country.

A congressional report released two months ago by the Overseas Bases Commission recommended maintaining current US troop levels on Okinawa. It said: "Diminishing our combat capability on the island would pose great risk to our national interests in the region."

Washington and Tokyo agreed in 1996 to build a new heliport to replace Futenma base, which sits in the heart of Okinawa's densely populated Ginowan City. The agreement had been forced on the two governments by the largest anti-US protests in Okinawa's modern history. The protests followed the kidnap and rape of a 12-year-old girl by two US Marines and a sailor.

But the Heneko plan, announced after years of tortuous negotiations, then proved deeply unpopular: a survey by the Okinawa Times-Asahi Shimbun newspaper last year found that 81 per cent of local people opposed it and dozens of mainly elderly protesters began blocking test drilling for the site 18 months ago.

The stalling of the plan angered Washington and is widely blamed for the cancellation of a scheduled visit to Japan this month by the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. Tokyo was keen to resolve the dispute before President George Bush's visit next month; a relieved Japanese Secretary of Defence, Yoshinori Ono, said last night that the talks had been "long and difficult".

Despite the climb-down, however, protesters said last night that they were angry that the base was going to be built in Okinawa at all. Many said that the move to Camp Schwab would still mean construction would take place up to the shoreline.

"Tokyo and America just completely take us for granted. If they want a new base, why don't they build it on the mainland or outside Japan altogether?" asked one of the protest leaders, Osamu Taira. "The only reason that they foist it on us is because they know we are small and powerless. We will protest until this plan is scrapped and the military is gone from here."