Kucinich opposes closing U.S. military bases
Originally published by KTUU
Kucinich opposes closing U.S. military bases
by Dan Fiorucci - Saturday, June 4, 2005
The only presidential candidate to actually visit Alaska during 2004 campaign said tonight that he's against military base closings in the United States. U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich says it's wrong to be opening bases in Iraq while shutting them down at home.
Ohio Democrat Kucinich was a presidential candidate who won more delegates in Alaska than John Kerry. Kucinich argues that base closings are a form of economic suicide for surrounding communities and that no such closings should go ahead unless the government first submits a plan for economic redevelopment.
"Look at what's happening in our country right now -- we're building new bases in Iraq and we're closing them here at home," Kucinich said.
Kucinich was the only presidential candidate who actually cast a vote in Congress against the Iraq war. Both John Kerry and John Edwards voted for the war, and now Kucinich says that war, which, so far, has cost $200 billion, is also costing communities like Fairbanks and Anchorage military bases such as Eielson and Kulis.
"What are people to do? Unless you create transitions in the economy and give people some idea of what they're gonna do next, this process is not fair," Kucinich said.
Although Kucinich is against base closures, he's for shutting down the missile defense site in Fort Greely. Kucinich says missile defense does not work.
"This thing about a national missile defense, it's not about the military, it's about hardware. This thing is a rip-off -- it doesn't even work," Kucinich said.
Kucinich, the ranking Democrat on the House Security Oversight Subcommittee, points out that to achieve kills, the Department of Defense placed homing devices on dummy warheads to help the anti-missile system hit them.
"They faked the tests. I want you to understand that. They faked the initial tests," Kucinich said.
Kucinich says all that missile defense sites, like Fort Greely, do is make Alaska a target. "By putting up such an installation anywhere, it makes that installation a target," he said.
U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens disagrees with Kucinich. He has said, time and time again, that with North Korea possessing offensive missiles which can almost reach the Aleutian Islands, the anti-missile system at Fort Greely makes Alaskans safer.
"I still believe we have more protection now than we had before with the missiles that are in place up there," Stevens said, on Feb. 21.
But on another matter, Kucinich stands firmly with the Alaska legislative delegation. He is working with Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young to get the U.S. Department of Agriculture to place a moratorium on the genetic engineering of farmed salmon. That bill could come up in Congress as early as next week.
As for any future runs for the presidency, Kucinich is non-committal.
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