European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 16, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 16 2007 stars and stripes pages g Lee Pacific commander adm Timothy Keating made a visit to Guam this weekend by Audrey Mcavoy the associated press Andersen air Force base Guam the new com Mander of us forces in the Pacific said sunday that tensions Over Taiwan Are a Factor in the Mili tary buildup of Guam but that the us is working hard to ensure hostilities dont erupt adm Timothy Keating spoke during a weekend visit to Guam a us territory in the Western Pacific where Washington has been boosting forces to take advantage of its strategic location on the Edge of Asia Keating said the us was work ing with China and Taiwan to Avert any conflict Over the Island our dialogue with the chinese and Taiwan emphasizes defensive posture on the part of Tai wan and the Lack of any offensive posture hopefully on the part of China Keating said we watch carefully every Day Beijing says the self governing Island is a renegade province and has threatened to invade if Tai wan declares formal Independence the us is committed to defending Taiwan if Beijing at tacks the us air Force and Navy have been increasing their pres ence on Guam for several years amid a broader push to shift planes ships and forces to the Pacific As the Region grows in eco nomic and military importance the Navy moved three Uncle a powered attack submarines to Guam apra Harbor in 2002 two years ago the air Force started rotating f15 fighter jets and b2 stealth bombers to Andersen air Force base from the us Mainland and Alaska later this year workers will break ground on a million Complex that will Host four to six global Hawk unmanned spy planes the Marine corps meanwhile plans to move 8000 of its forces to Guam from the Southern Japa Nese Island of Okinawa this is aimed at reducing the us military presence on densely populated Okinawa where Resi dents have Long complained that american troops occupy too much of their land the Transfer of the marines helps the us As Well by freeing Washington from potential Politi Cal objections if Tokyo were to disapprove of How the troops were used in conflicts outside Japan Keating said Guam buildup also added to the us military deterrent against North Korea were not doing this under the cover of darkness its of with us that folks know about it Keating said its kind of the Point buildup Guam is just hours by plane and a few Days by ship from the korean Peninsula and the Tai wan Strait in contrast planes need 11 hours to Fly to Asia from Hawaii and ships need about nine Days Keating earlier got an Aerial View of the land where Marine housing is to be built when he Cir cled the Island in a helicopter the admirals visit to Guam was part of a we Klong Ashapa civic tour that included stops in Tokyo and Seoul moving the marines and thou Sands of their family members to the Island from Okinawa May have the biggest Impact on the Small islands economic and so Cial life it will Likely add some 35000 people to Guam population of just 170000 including family members moving to Guam with the marines and workers who will Likely need to move to Guam to build new facilities so tech built to survive the worlds worst Specos Stechcon 800 6139oo7 mag Shingle btdmsh4 us inquiry afghan casualties were civilians special forces first Aid pack Sof map holsters vests harnesses packs thigh rigs slings by Ann Scott Tyson and Josh White the Washington Post Washington a preliminary us military investigation indicates that More than 40 afghans killed or wounded by marines after a suicide bombing in a Village near Jala Labad last month were civilians the us commander who ordered the probe said yesterday maj Gen Frank Kearney head of special operations command Central also said there is no Evi fix noway later liposuction cosmetic surgery of Pohling lip Transfer wrinkle treatment botox by Alurovic acid sweat glands removal lips Etc medical clinic or Peterson Kaiserslautern Bah Hofstr 26 8929 122  Mannheim q25 Fon 0621 39 722 61  of neuters laptops Low monthly payments Dence that the Marine special operations platoon came under Small arms fire after the bomb ing although the marines reported taking enemy fire and seeing people with weapons the troops continued shooting at perceived threats As they travelled Miles from the site of the March 4 attack he said they hit Sev eral vehicles kill ing at least 10 peo ple and wounding 33 among them children and elderly villagers we found no brass that we can confirm that Small arms fire came at them Kearney said re Ferring to ammunition casings we have testimony from marines that is in conflict with unanimous testimony from civilians at the Sites Kearney said in a Telephone inter View from his Headquarters in Qatar where he oversees All us special operations forces in the Region including in Afghanistan and Iraq the results of the preliminary investigation which Are not conclusive Are similar to the find Ings of an official afghan human rights inquiry and contradict Ini tial reports that the civilians might have been killed in a Small arms attack that followed the suicide bombing we certainly believe its Possi ble that the incoming fire from the ambush was wholly or partly responsible for the civilian casual ties maj William Mitchell a us military spokesman in Afghanistan said immediately after the March 4 attack according to a bbl report saturday however Kearney said of the killed and wounded my investigating officer believes those folks were innocent we were unable to find Evi Dence that those were fighters officer believes those folks were innocent we were unable to find evidence that those were fighters w maj Gen Frank Kearney head of special operations command Central on Kearney orders the naval criminal investigative service is conducting a probe that could Lead to court martial of those involved the military investigation found direct evidence such As broken Glass showing the marines kept firing for about three investigating Miles As they left the ambush site in a Convoy Kear Ney said but he did not dispute allegations from the afghan human right investigation that the shooting had gone on much longer we do not Dis Pute 16 kilo me ters 10 the distance that an official afghan human rights investigation determined but Kearney said we did not find physical evidence beyond three Miles the civilian death and injury toll in the incident is one of the largest for which coalition troops Are allegedly responsible since the War in Afghanistan began in 2001 this was a single incident that had a catastrophic outcome from a perceptions Point of View Kearney said there was an inordinate amount of civilian deaths As a result of a suicide vehicle bomb that had not much effect on our Convoy Kearney said everyone takes this very very seriously one Marine suffered a Shrap Nel wound in the suicide bombing but there was no need for medical evacuation the marines special operations company had begun operations from its base in Jala Labad about feb 19 Kearney said and the platoon was conducting a patrol to familiarize itself with local routes on March 4 when the am Bush took place the six humvee Convoy had stopped at another us Camp near the Pakistan Border and was on its Way Back to Jala Labad when a Toyota Van moved to the Shoul Der along with other oncoming traffic the Van suddenly swerved Between the first and second humvee and the suicide bomber detonated the bomb Kearney said marines in the Convoy believed that they were taking enemy fire from several locations along the sides of the Road Kearney said they judged vehicles along the Road As threats and shot at five of because it failed to re Spond to their direction and an other because it appeared to be trying to Force them in a certain direction Kearney said they reported receiving enemy fire from a number of locations they believed they saw folks with weapons he said the investigation found 10 killed and 33 wounded while an official afghan report put the numbers at 12 killed and 35 wounded the Afghanistan Independent human rights commission re leased its report on the incident saturday along with a separate More general report on violations of International humanitarian Law across the country in re cent months the second study said actions by the Taliban afghan National forces and International forces regularly put civil Ian lives at risk the commissions inquiry into the March 4 incident reported in the Washington Post saturday found that a 4yearold girl a 1yearold boy and three elderly villagers were among the dead Khaleen Ahmad a spokesman for afghan president Hamid Karzai in Kabul said saturday that he had not seen the human rights commission report and could not comment on it Karzai was travelling saturday in Jalapa bad on an unrelated matter Ahmad said