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Warship's visit fuels war
talk
By Sonny Inbaraj
PERTH, Australia - Many in Australia are interpreting
the return to the West Australian port of Fremantle of
one of the biggest warships in the world as a sign that
war in Iraq is imminent.
The US nuclear aircraft
carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln was due in Fremantle
either late on Monday or early Tuesday - under
Canberra's new sea-swap agreement with the US Navy -
despite leaving just over a week ago. The US Navy's
official reason for the Abraham Lincoln's return is that
the warship had to undergo maintenance and repairs.
But with war in Iraq looming - many believe in a
matter of weeks - an Australian Navy source said that
the vessel's next destination after Fremantle could be
the Gulf. "The west coast of our country is well placed
strategically for operations in the Gulf area," said the
source, who did not want to be named.
The
Abraham Lincoln's decision to return was made after the
Pentagon ordered the carrier to cancel plans to return
home to Washington state and, instead, prepare for
possible action in Iraq, according to sources. Two US
carrier battle groups are already in the Middle East -
the Constellation in the Persian Gulf and the Harry S
Truman in the Mediterranean.
But some people are
concerned that Western Australia could become a target
for violent retaliation because it will be seen as
supporting the US government in its war against Iraq.
The Abraham Lincoln is home to an estimated
6,000 sailors and 90 planes, ranging from fighters to
surveillance aircraft. A spokesman for the Fremantle
Anti-Nuclear Group said that clubs and tourist
destinations in the state could become the target of
terrorist bombings when US sailors hit the city on their
shore leave, similar to the October attack on
Australians on Indonesia's Bali island.
"If we
are swarming with US sailors, we will become a terrorist
target and where they [US defense personnel] hang out is
where the bombers will concentrate," said the group's
Jane Hammond. "People will turn away in droves from
nightspots frequented by the sailors. Why would you want
to go anywhere near somewhere that is known as a US
military base?" she asked.
Under the sea-swap
agreement between Canberra and Washington that was
finalized in late October, Cockburn Sound in Fremantle
Port will be made a de facto base for the US Navy. The
plans include flying thousands of US military personnel
in and out of Western Australia to meet US warships in
Cockburn Sound. Under the proposal the US Navy would use
the state as a swapover point for the Seventh Fleet.
According to a media release from the
Australian Defense Department, the sea swap will enable the US
Navy to transfer crews without the need on every occasion
to return the ship to the United States, allowing a
more efficient use of navy assets. "The sea-swap agreement
demonstrates Australia's support for a principal ally
and friend," said Defense Minister Robert Hill.
Western Australia premier Geoff Gallop rejected
the argument that the presence of the Abraham Lincoln
made the state vulnerable to a terrorist attack. "That's
a ludicrous proposition, we do have a defense and
intelligence connection with the United States and it's
in our national interest," he said over the weekend.
"And it just so happens it brings real economic benefits
to the state of Western Australia," added the premier.
News reports said that during the Abraham
Lincoln's six-day visit over the Christmas break, the
ship's crew spent some 3 million Australian dollars
(US$1.7 million) a day. But Dr Annie Irvine of the
Medical Association for Prevention of War disagrees with
Gallop. "The state government, having successfully
invited the US Navy for sea swap by selling the relative
safety of our facilities and their proximity to the US
post-Cold War action zones in Iraq and Afghanistan,
seems dangerously focused on the tourist dollars the
visiting sailors would inject into our local economy,"
she said.
"Certainly, these sailors will spend
more, but our closer alignment with the militarized
foreign policy of the United States of America will also
deter other tourists due to the added security risks,"
she stressed. Added Dr Irvine, Places like Burswood
Casino have already expressed concern at the impact.
Perth airport could be another soft target when the
crews are being flown in or out. All this is bad for
tourism and for public safety."
For their
part, environmentalists fear that the sea-swap agreement will
give another green light to the US armed forces to leave
its toxic legacy abroad. According to the Western
Australian Environment Center, as part of the sea swap
package, the US Navy has also expressed interest in
using areas near Lancelin, in the state, for plane, ship
and marine training. "The US Navy is running out of
suitable areas in its own country for sea and shore
bombardment and has its eyes on our coastal health and
precious marine environment for bombing practice," said
the center in a statement.
US environmental
regulations do not apply overseas and the center points
out that no part of the world is untouched by
environmental hazards generated by the US military. A
1999 Pentagon report cited environmental problems at
bases in Greenland, Spain, Japan, Panama, Italy, Iceland
and Britain.
In Puerto Rico - a US commonwealth
- environmentalists say the US Navy was violating clean
water, clean air and hazardous waste laws in its
operations at the Vieques base.
The navy has
admitted to mistakenly firing rounds tipped with
depleted uranium at Vieques and using napalm in 1993. A
preliminary health study found the physical and mental
health of residents near the base was significantly
worse than that of other Puerto Ricans. In South Korea,
sewage from two bases flows untreated into local rivers,
a practice that would be illegal in the United States.
(Inter Press Service)
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