Vieques -
IT'S ABOUT FORCE!

To U.S. imperialism, the tiny island of Vieques, like Iraq, is about force. Not just any force, but the "righteous" force necessary to defend freedom, democracy and the "American way" around the world. A force that has been justified many different ways over the last one hundred years as it is a key component of imperialist relations. It is a force that is need more today than it has ever been in the past.

If one reduced the world situation to a single point, it would be that the U.S. can not maintain its position in the world-or the control within the borders-without the force of its military. The U.S. is responsible for bringing war, death and destruction to many different people around the world for long time. Enough time for there to be millions of people the world over who would joyously celebrate to see the U.S. disappear tomorrow, and many millions more who would help accelerate its departure. Consequently the U.S. is kept very busy looking over its shoulder.

What does this have to do with Vieques? Well, for the U.S. military to be ready at a moment's notice to rush off and protect "our" interests anywhere in the world takes training. It takes hours of practice to reign death and destruction from the sky. Vieques is where the U.S. military hones its ability to deliver force-the kind of force being delivered daily to Iraq. Force delivered inspite of the fact that Iraq, long ago, ceased being any kind of real military threat. Force that results in the deaths of thousands of innocents to "protect" U.S. interests.

It's also ironic that like Iraq, Vieques has been divided into three parts, and like Iraq, the people are trapped in the middle part by U.S. war planes. An island in the Caribbean and a sovereign country in the Middle East are both critical to the U.S.'s position as top imperialist. Vieques as a training ground, Iraq as a lesson and reason for heightened military presence in the Gulf. So when the press regurgitates the military's pabulum about Vieques being "vital to national security," they're telling the truth. But it's an imperial truth-a kind of truth that will cost people their lives, their land and their liberty.

So the U.S. military sees no more of a problem with displacing the people of Vieques to bomb the island any more than they did when they stole and desecrated the island of Kahoolawe and parts of the island of Hawai'i from the people of Hawai'i. For anyone who thinks that statehood is the solution to the problems of the people of Puerto Rico, think again. Hawai'i was a state for over twenty years before the island of Kahoolawe was reclaimed-and then only with the determined struggle of the people of Hawai'i getting into the face of the military and jamming the politicians. Through the ups and downs of the struggle, the people stood strong in their demands for the return of their land.

We stand with the people of Vieques, as we do with the people of Hawai'i, the Philippines, Peru, Columbia and the other countries of the world struggling under the burden of U.S. and imperialism, and demand that the U.S. Navy permanently stop bombing and leave the island of Vieques.

We also salute the Puerto Rican veterans who are returning their medals and ribbons in protest of Clinton's authorizing the resuming of bombing by the U.S. Navy. As veterans, we know the horrors of imperialist war and are opposed to them or any "games" or training that destroys people, land or cultures.