First lady at odds with Pentagon over Puerto Rican bombing range

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Hillary Rodham Clinton is calling for an immediate and permanent end to use of a Puerto Rican island for U.S. military exercises, a position that puts her at odds with the Pentagon.

The first lady said she was "disappointed" that a Department of Defense special panel on Vieques called for a five-year phase out of the Navy's training there, and called for an immediate halt to its military use.

In this story:

Island considered essential for military readiness
Cohen to defer recommendation until after talks
Puerto Rican leaders support Mrs. Clinton's stance

Vieques is a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico inhabited by 9,300 people. The Navy acquired two-thirds of the 8,000-acre island in 1941 and uses it for live artillery fire and shore bombardment training.

In April 1999, a Puerto Rican security guard was killed and four other people were wounded in a bombing accident during a training mission, sparking protests on Vieques and a Pentagon review of the use of the bombing range.

Protesters have camped out on the range since the incident in a campaign to end to the Navy's use of the island.

The Vieques issue has become a major political issue in Puerto Rico and within the Puerto Rican community in New York, where Mrs. Clinton is considering a Senate run.

"Politically, it is the number one priority on our agenda right now," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-New York).

New York has more than 1 million Puerto Rican residents.

Island considered essential for military readiness

The four-man panel, ordered by President Bill Clinton, issued its findings early Monday and reported the U.S. armed services considered the resumption of training essential for military readiness.

"The panel concludes that at present there is a valid requirement for the Navy to conduct combined arms exercises involving live air-to-ground ordnance, naval surface fire support and the combined arms live fire training needed to provide combat ready forces for deployment," the report stated.

Vieques is the only Atlantic Ocean facility where "realistic combat training can be conducted in a combined and coordinated manner," the report concluded, mentioning the complex's daytime and nighttime training capability and its amphibious landing beaches.

However, the panel also recommended the Navy assess alternative sites in order to be able to cease training activity on Vieques within five years.

In the meantime, the panel recommended additional talks between the Navy and the Puerto Rican government to resolve the issue.

Cohen to defer recommendation until after talks

Defense Secretary William Cohen, in a written statement, called the panel's report "balanced" but said he would defer making a recommendation to the president until further dialogue occurred.

Asked about the matter while in New Jersey Monday night, the president, referring to Cohen's call for more talks, said that "ought to be done."

Mrs. Clinton, in a statement issued by her Senate exploratory campaign committee late Monday, said the cessation of military exercises should happen now.

"There should be an immediate and permanent end to the bombing. The use of live fire on the island has put the people of Vieques at risk, degraded the environment, and hampered economic development," Mrs. Clinton said in her statement.

"I believe continued military readiness is critical to the security of the United States, and it is my hope that the Navy will move quickly to find another location to conduct this training," Mrs. Clinton said.

But Mrs. Clinton's position was not welcomed by some of the people who would be her colleagues in the Senate.

"I wonder what the first lady would have to say about the rest of the portions of the United States of America that do accept this as their contribution toward national security," said Sen. John Warner (R-Virginia).

Earlier this year, Mrs. Clinton stirred up another controversial Puerto Rican issue, when she first supported, then opposed President Clinton's grant of clemency to 16 militant Puerto Rican nationalists, most of whom were subsequently released from prison.

Puerto Rican leaders support Mrs. Clinton's stance

Even Mrs. Clinton's likely Republican opponent in the Senate race, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani supports the end of the bombing.

I don't think bombing should be resumed," Giuliani said.

Puerto Rican leaders welcomed Mrs. Clinton's stance.

"Bombing for five more years and then finding a way to leave is unacceptable, so she said the right thing," said Rep. Jose Serrano (D-New York).

Juan Figueroa, executive director of Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, a civil rights advocacy group headquartered in New York, said, "She got it right on this one. She got good advice."

But Figueroa said something is missing from Mrs. Clinton's campaign.

"We don't see how she or her staff are connecting this issue to the bread-and-butter issues that people are concerned about, whether it's education, whether it's housing, whether it's jobs and what-have-you, and that's what's missing," he said.

Mrs. Clinton's spokesman, Howard Wolfson, said she consulted with a variety of people in New York and Washington.

"She wanted to make the most informed decision possible. She wanted for the report to come out, she wanted to see the report and issue a statement at that point," Wolfson said.

"The Navy should not be using a small inhabited island for live bombing training. The bombing should end immediately and it should end permanently," Wolfson said.

One of the leading Puerto Rican elected officials consulted was Bronx Borough President Ferdinand Ferrer.

"I think Mrs. Clinton's statement is courageous and appropriate," Ferrer said.

CNN's Phil Hirschkorn, Maria Hinojosa and The Associated Press contributed to this report.