2006年VOA标准英语-Plan to Cut US Marines Presence on Okinawa

By Steve Herman
Okinawa, Japan
13 March 2006

The United States and Japan are discussing plans to move 8,000 U.S. Marines off the island of Okinawa. Both governments hope the move will ease conflicts with islanders, who complain that U.S. bases take up too much land and that troops too often cause trouble.

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Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha
  

The refrain being heard again this month on Okinawa is a familiar one. The mayor of the town of Ginowan, Yoichi Iha, is among those shouting it the loudest. At a recent rally Iha told thousands of Okinawans that it is time for all U.S. forces to leave Japan. The mayor says a plan by the U.S. military to remove up to 8,000 Marines off the island is not sufficient.

When the subject of the U.S. military on Okinawa is raised, the focus often is on the Marines, who make up about 13,000 out of the nearly 25,000 American troops on the island.

Their number makes the Marines a high-profile target for criticism. Among other complaints: the Marine¹ bases take up valuable land on a small island and that noise from aircraft and weapons disturbs civilian² communities. Okinawans also worry about crime committed by Marines and military aircraft accidents. 

 
Marines with 2nd Battalion³, 23rd Marine Regiment⁴, demonstrate security and stability operations for a contingent⁵ of Japan Self Defense⁶ Force soldiers 
  
There are about 54,000 U.S. troops throughout Japan, and a nearly equal number of family members and American base employees. The troops originally came in World War II. They remain, the Japanese and U.S. governments say, to protect Japan, maintain peace and stability in Asia and allow the U.S. to be ready to respond quickly to any threat.

But Okinawans have long been bitter over the fact that their prefecture, one of the country's smallest, holds so many U.S. troops.

Marine officials say a "silent majority" of Okinawans supports the U.S. presence. But over the years, several high-profile crimes and other incidents involving Marines, including rapes⁷ and the crash of a Marine helicopter into a university building, have fueled public anger.

 
U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer 
  
To ease that anger, junior Marines these days have a midnight curfew on Okinawa. As U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer told Okinawans during a recent speech here, the military has a zero tolerance⁸ policy for any crimes committed by its personnel on the island. "Americans are not here to prey⁹ upon the innocent," he said. "We are here to protect the innocent."

While U.S. officials say even one offense¹⁰ is too many, they point to Okinawa police statistics that say only one percent of all crimes on the island are committed by Americans, although they make up four percent of the population.

But, for many Okinawans, the presence of so many young men, who are trained for war but have little understanding of Japanese culture, is intimidating¹¹.
 
 
USMC Lt. Col. Phillip Ridderhoff 
  
Lieutenant¹² Colonel Phillip Ridderhoff, the deputy planning officer for the Marine Corps¹³ on Okinawa, says such fears are unfounded. "I don't think you can associate a specific type of unit with a proclivity¹⁴ towards incidents because actually the units that come here that are held up as combat units are kept active for most of their time training and they're also mainly at the northern part of the island," said Ridderhoff.

Northern Okinawa is sparsely¹⁵ populated and offers few off-base attractions and almost no interaction with islanders.

Under the force realignment plan Japan and the U.S. are discussing, about 8,000 Marines will be moved off Okinawa, mostly administrative¹⁶ and support personnel. Most of the combat troops will remain. In part that is because the U.S. Defense Department thinks it is important to keep ground troops on the island as a deterrence¹⁷ against any threat.

The realignment plan also includes changes to some bases on Japan's main islands, bringing several hundred more U.S. Army troops to the country and moving a Marine Corps air station from a crowded urban area on Okinawa to a less developed area.

The Marines try to emphasize the positive aspects of their presence here. In addition to helping¹⁸ defend Japan under a bilateral¹⁹ defense pact²⁰, the force is ready to respond to conflicts and natural disasters in a region covering half of the Earth's surface.

Marines volunteer in local schools, raise funds for charity and participate in other activities to interact with Okinawa communities.

The Marine bases on Okinawa employ more then 4,200 local civilians²¹ and contribute an estimated $770 million to the island's economy.

Former Okinawa Governor Masahide Ota, now a member of Japan's Upper House of Parliament, says the island can do without all that. "If those areas which are used by the U.S. military are returned to the local people and if we could re-utilize the area, we could guarantee 10 times more employment," he said.

The troop realignment plan is to be finalized²² this month. But the Japanese and U.S. negotiators have differences in how they want to accomplish the plan. Even if they agree on the details, many Okinawa politicians say they are likely to struggle to win the support of islanders.

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

4 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

5 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网

8 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

9 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

10 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

11 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

12 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

13 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

14 proclivity   

n.倾向，癖性

参考例句：

• He has a proclivity toward violence.他有暴力的倾向。
• He has a proclivity for exaggeration.他总爱夸夸其谈。

15 sparsely   

adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地

参考例句：

• Relative to the size, the city is sparsely populated. 与其面积相比，这个城市的人口是稀少的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ground was sparsely covered with grass. 地面上稀疏地覆盖草丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

17 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

19 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

20 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

21 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

22 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》