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Vieques is a reminder that the motto of a 51st U.S. state of Puerto Rico might as well be "Yankee go home."  | American flags were booed and 80,000 protesters marched against the Navy. |
Vieques and Statehood During the 1998 debate on Puerto Rico statehood, statehood backers proclaimed that the "pro-American, conservative people of Puerto Rico" would be "another Oklahoma". Is this true? Let’s compare. In Fort Sill, Oklahoma, live-fire military training takes place 320 days per year 1.2 miles from nearby Lawton, home to roughly 100,000 people. In Vieques, live-fire training takes place 180 days per year, 9.7 miles from the island’s population of 9,300 people. (The Puerto Rican National Guard trains at Fort Sill.) One training range is the subject of demonstrations, sit-ins and visits from Jesse Jackson. Hint: It isn’t the one in Oklahoma. - New York Times: 1st Vieques, Then Okinawa? (June 14, 2001).
- "Rove played a major role in Vieques move," Washington Times (June 20, 2001).
- "Money Begins to Talk in the Bush Administration", Insight (July 2, 2001).
- "Stand Firm on Vieques," National Review Online (May 4, 2001).
- "Dateline: Vieques, Puerto Rico: A Case Study in Clintonism," National Review Online (May 5, 2000).
- Senator James Inhofe, "Military Readiness at Stake in Vieques."
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