Guam: New US military build-up opposed http://www.greenleft.org.au/2010/830/42719

On March 21, US President Barack Obama will depart on a short tour of the Asia-Pacific region. His main destinations will be Indonesia and Australia, but the trip will include a brief stopover in Guam. Obama’s time in the north Pacific island nation that is claimed as US territory will be spent entirely inside the US military bases that occupy a third of Guam. Guam is under US occupation. Since 1898, the island has been a US colony, apart from a two-and-a-half year Japanese occupation during World War II. Since then, it has been an important US military base. It currently has about 3000 soldiers, although an increase is planned. 

A petition signed by 11,000 Guamanians (out of a population of 178,000) has called on Obama to meet with the community to address their concerns about the military build-up. Serious economic, social and environmental threats are posed by the proposed troop increase. The petition was initiated by We Are Guahan, which is a “grassroots collective of individuals, families and organisations working to inform the community about the impacts of the build-up”. It states: “The military build-up will permanently change our island and our lives. The needs of all Guam’s people must come first, for this island is our home. It is critical that President Obama hear our concerns.”