[wvns] Guam: key US military base
Washington is spending billions of dollars in building-up its base in
Guam
Guam becomes key US military base
By Tony Birtley in Guam
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C87350F6-6F90-408F-BDAC-6F44A6028C4C.htm
The US is spending billions of dollars and moving troops in the Asia
Pacific to strengthen bases in outlying US territories as part of a
new defence strategy.
The Pacific Island of Guam, previously considered a glorified
refuelling base, has taken on a new importance to the US since
September 11, 2001, and is currently being turned into a military hub.
The build-up in Guam is expected to cost $15 bn, with almost
two-thirds of it going towards relocating 8,000 marines from the US
base in Okinawa, Japan.
But the base in Guam, the United State's most western territory, is
not reliant on support from a foreign country, like those in Japan and
South Korea.
New strategy
The US navy patrols the Gulf off Guam to protect USoil interests
The island has become the lynchpin of a new military strategy designed
to face any war scenario.
The F-16s fighter jets sitting at the island's Andersen air force base
are part of a rotational squadron, and just one aspect of the military
build-up.
On the apron, old but still operational B-52 bombers, which unleashed
terrifying bombing missions in Vietnam and Iraq during the first Gulf
War were standing by.
The US outpost will see a whole array of the latest military hardware
including nuclear-powered Trident submarines which can fire Tomahawk
cruise missiles and unmanned Global Hawk spy aircraft.
By next year, the base will receive the latest state-of-the-art F-22
fighter jets, reflecting Guam's strategic defence position in a
volatile part of the world.
Analysts say the Guam build-up was all about a "message of deterrent
through strength" directed at North Korea and China, which has been
almost doubling its military spending in recent years.
Lieutenant general Daniel Leaf, deputy commander of the US Pacific
Command, said: "We are here to provide military defence and to deter
aggressive activities by any group, terrorists or national entity...
We want peace but we are also committed to overall well-being of the
pacific community."
Locals 'terrified'
Guam's indigenous residents fear they will be
targeted by US enemies
But local residents are not convinced that the US has their interests
at heart.
A small group of Chamorus, Guam's indigenous people, think that
military developments on this tiny island make them a potential target.
Rumbo Chedo, a Chamorru activist, said his biggest concern were his
children's safety.
"The whole of al-Qaeda and terrorists know that the military is moving
here and expanding themselves," he told Al Jazeera.
Debbie Quinata, another Chamorru activist, said: "I think we really
need to look at this picture and who are the terrorists because at
this point they're terrifying us, they're terrifying me, they're
terrifying my family."
In its global "war on terror" the US deploys fast patrol boats to
protect oil platforms in the Gulf and to safeguard dangerous waters
stretching from Taiwan to the Philippines.
For the US, the formidable combination of air and sea military power
is enough to stop Asia from becoming another nightmare scenario like Iraq.
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