Telling the U.S. Navy to leave P. R. is the easy way out
Published on Sunday, April 25th 1999 on The San Juan StarIn a bank robbery, one of the thieves pulls out a gun and starts shooting haphazardly. A bank guard shoots at the robber and accidentally kills a customer. This is an unfortunate accident. It has happened. The easy way out of this is to ban banks. Banks are known to stash cash, delinquents are known to covet cash they can steal, bank robbers usually carry firearms, and bank robberies happen at banks. If we eliminate banks, we would eliminate bank robberies and the possibility of innocent bystanders getting killed at banks. We can't eliminate crooks, so we might as well eliminate banks.
At a hospital nursery, a nurse accidentally uses salt instead of sugar while preparing the milk formula for the baby bottles to be used in nursing the babies that day. Babies are fed the salty milk. Most of them die. This is an unfortunate accident. It has happened. The easy way out of this is to ban nurseries in hospitals. Better yet, let's ban hospitals. A lot of people die in hospitals, yes even by accident. If we eliminate hospitals, no one would ever accidentally die in hospitals. We can't keep sick people from going to hospitals, nor accidental deaths at hospitals, so we might as well eliminate hospitals.
At a public housing development, or at a filthy rich condominium, for that matter, a police raid is taking place against drug traffickers. There is an exchange of gunfire and a bullet accidentally kills a young boy. This has happened. We can't eliminate drug traffickers and we cannot eliminate cops, so we might as well eliminate housing developments and wealthy condominiums to keep this from happening again.
There are accidental deaths at traffic fatalities on an almost daily basis. Let's eliminate cars and highways. There are accidental deaths at plane crashes, so let's eliminate aircraft, airlines and airports. There were accidental astronaut deaths as a result of a space shuttle flight, so let's eliminate the space program. There was an episode where terrorists bombed a federal building in Arkansas, so let's eliminate federal buildings. There was a gruesome episode in a Colorado school where some high school students shot fourteen schoolmates, so let's eliminate schools. All these have happened. There was an unfortunate, lamentable and painful accidental death at Vieques, so let's get the Navy out of Vieques and out of Puerto Rico.
The clamor to get the Navy out of Vieques and to get any and all United States military personnel out of Puerto Rico has nothing to do with the unfortunate, accidental, wasteful and inexcusable death that has brought grief to us all. If the Navy knew that there was a detachment of personnel, civilian or military, at that site at that time, it is inexcusable that it allowed strafing or bombing to take place. It is even understandable that Puerto Rico may want its pound of flesh. If the Navy wants to demonstrate the level to which it holds values and valor, bring forth the person, circumstances, and or conditions responsible for this tragedy. And met out justice. The Navy owes it to Puerto Rico and to the Navy. Yes, the Navy apologized. But apology should not brush this under the rug. It just won't do.
Neither will it do to clamor for the Navy to cease and desist from carrying out its operations in Roosevelt Roads, Vieques, and the one million plus cubic miles of ocean and atmosphere that form part of this complex, and just get the hell out. No, this is not a perfect world. It would be nice to need no cops and to need no military. It would be nice to have a world without war. But a world without war is pie in the sky. A world with war has obligated all nations to have armies, and navies and air forces. One of these nations has been charged with being sheriff, whether we like it or not. Crazy as it may sound, a strong sheriff and his readiness for war forestalls war.
When someone drops a shoe with evil intent anywhere in the world and the President's Security Council and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have to get together on the matter, the first question the President asks is "Where is the aircraft carrier?" It would be nice if the guys in the carrier, and all the other guys ashore, in submarines or aloft, knew exactly what to do and had some experience doing it. Surgery saves lives. It should be as painless as surgery can be. It should be expertly carried out. It should be quick. No one learns surgery from a textbook alone. It needs hands on training. So do the military.
In Puerto Rico, it is politically correct to clamor for kicking the Navy away. That is the easy way out, even for the Navy. In the overall scheme of things, however, what is more correct is to clamor for the Navy to answer to, and be held accountable and responsible for, this tragedy.
And on the following day, the sun will also rise in the east.