The beaches of Vieques Island are littered with the remnants of mock battles

January 31, 2000
Web posted at: 10:52 p.m. EST (0352 GMT)

In this story: Inhabitants to vote on exercises Critic calls deal 'better than half a loaf' RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. government has reached an agreement with Puerto Rico to resume military training exercises on a bombing range on the island of Vieques, Pentagon sources said.

The compromise calls for the use of "inert" or dummy bombs during training.

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The Vieques range was closed last April after a civilian security guard was killed by a stray bomb. Since then, protesters have set up camp on the beaches, forcing a halt to Navy training.

The U.S. Navy says Vieques is the only place in the Atlantic suitable for practicing amphibious landings by Marines, backed up by airpower.

"We have arrived at a solution that assures peace for Vieques," said Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Rossello.

The compromise would allow the Navy to resume training for the next three years using only the dummy bombs, limited to 90 days a year.

Inhabitants to vote on exercises

The agreement will also provide for a future referendum to allow the Navy to resume live-fire exercises and stay beyond three years. The referendum could be held as early as August of this year or as late as February 2002, at the Navy's discretion.

In return, the United States will provide $40 million in economic development aid for the tiny island, with an additional $50 million if the Navy is allowed to stay and resume the use of live ammunition.

A senior Navy official said the Navy would embark on a campaign to win over the citizens of Vieques. He said he believed there was a "decent chance" the Navy would win the right to stay in the referendum.

Critic calls deal 'better than half a loaf'

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John Warner, R-Va., who last year criticized the Clinton administration's handling of the dispute, was briefed on the deal at the Pentagon by Defense Secretary William Cohen.

After the meeting, Warner told CNN he thought the administration had "given its best effort" and that the compromise was "better than half a loaf."

Because the Vieques range had been made off-limits by protesters, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was forced to send its planes to Fallon Naval Air Station in Nevada for training in December. The carrier had to arrange for more live-fire exercises at Cape Wrath, an island off Scotland.

The next aircraft carrier to need pre-deployment training will be the USS George Washington, scheduled to begin training in April.

Although military exercises are scheduled to resume under the new agreement, the Center for Naval Analysis is looking for alternative sites, U.S. Navy sources said.

CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report.

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