thedrifter
07-09-03, 06:08 AM
U.S. mulls putting N.Korea strike force on Hawaii
EUTERS
6:49 a.m., July 8, 2003
TOKYO – The United States is considering basing a strike force of advanced transport aircraft and other resources in Hawaii to deal with possible security threats from North Korea and elsewhere, the island's governor said on Tuesday.
In an interview with Kyodo news agency in Tokyo, visiting Hawaii governor Linda Lingle said the Pentagon had brought up the issue "because of the obvious threats from North Korea and some of the other terrorist activities going on in this part of the world."
Lingle said Hawaii – the closest American state to Asia and around 3,750 miles from North Korea – was keen on the idea.
"What is most important is the defense of America and our allies," Lingle said. "So we need to use them where they can be more effective ... for America and for Japan."
The United States is in the middle of a dramatic reassessment of its global military capacity since reconsidering its security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
Although not finalized, the review considers placing strike forces and other strategic resources around the world so that they can be deployed and used more swiftly, rather than a slow build-up of forces as happened with the war in Iraq.
Lingle said Hawaii could also become the home base for an aircraft carrier for the first time since World War Two, when a surprise attack by Japanese forces devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
As part of the review, Washington and Seoul last month unveiled a plan to remove U.S. forces from near the Demilitarised Zone – the stretch of no-man's land dividing the South from North Korea – and relocating them in the center of the peninsula.
The two Korean states remain technically at war because the armed truce which ended the 1950-53 Korean conflict never led to a peace treaty.
The United States has been locked in a bitter dispute with North Korea over the reclusive communist state's suspected nuclear weapons programs.
The North Korea crisis erupted in October when U.S. officials said North Korea had admitted to working secretly to develop nuclear arms.
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
EUTERS
6:49 a.m., July 8, 2003
TOKYO – The United States is considering basing a strike force of advanced transport aircraft and other resources in Hawaii to deal with possible security threats from North Korea and elsewhere, the island's governor said on Tuesday.
In an interview with Kyodo news agency in Tokyo, visiting Hawaii governor Linda Lingle said the Pentagon had brought up the issue "because of the obvious threats from North Korea and some of the other terrorist activities going on in this part of the world."
Lingle said Hawaii – the closest American state to Asia and around 3,750 miles from North Korea – was keen on the idea.
"What is most important is the defense of America and our allies," Lingle said. "So we need to use them where they can be more effective ... for America and for Japan."
The United States is in the middle of a dramatic reassessment of its global military capacity since reconsidering its security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
Although not finalized, the review considers placing strike forces and other strategic resources around the world so that they can be deployed and used more swiftly, rather than a slow build-up of forces as happened with the war in Iraq.
Lingle said Hawaii could also become the home base for an aircraft carrier for the first time since World War Two, when a surprise attack by Japanese forces devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
As part of the review, Washington and Seoul last month unveiled a plan to remove U.S. forces from near the Demilitarised Zone – the stretch of no-man's land dividing the South from North Korea – and relocating them in the center of the peninsula.
The two Korean states remain technically at war because the armed truce which ended the 1950-53 Korean conflict never led to a peace treaty.
The United States has been locked in a bitter dispute with North Korea over the reclusive communist state's suspected nuclear weapons programs.
The North Korea crisis erupted in October when U.S. officials said North Korea had admitted to working secretly to develop nuclear arms.
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: