Guam's military buildup makes page one in DC

I wasn’t crazy about this Washington Post story, Guam Braces for Peaceful Military Incursion. It appeared on page one of the newspaper on Jan. 25 and framed the island this way:

Although the island is typhoon-plagued and earthquake-prone, cursed with bad traffic, unable to cope with its own garbage and overrun with invasive tree snakes that have eaten nearly all the birds …

Yes, there are typhoons. But Guam recovers faster from these storms then the Washington DC area does from a foot of snow. Bad traffic? Compared to what? Washington DC’s beltway? And invasive tree snakes? Granted, the Brown Tree Snake is no plus but it’s largely invisible. I live in downtown DC and on any night – and I am not exaggerating – I will see rats running across the sidewalks. There’s a real rat problem in DC.

It’s easy to be unflattering but I understood the need to point out Guam’s landfill problems. In doing so, it draws attention to the need for money to deal with it and so far the island isn’t getting the commitment it needs from the federal government. But the story didn't have to overlook the island's beauty to make that point.

The story outlines the problem the build-up poses and also makes note of the heroic contributions that Guam’s residents have made.

All in all, the Marine move is giving many Guamanians -- an extraordinarily patriotic people who fight and die in U.S. wars at rates much higher than on the mainland -- a serious case of the jitters.

But I wish the story had also explained that this great sacrifice by some of the Guam’s finest young men and women has not earned it voting rights. The island doesn’t have political voice and is treated as a possession in every sense of the world. As one person who commented on the Post’s story wrote:

The story failed to mention "Guam’s inability to vote for president or that our Congressional Delegate is a non-voting member of the House of Representatives and that Guam also has no representation in the U.S. Senate - lacking a true voice for any kind of transfer or action taken to the island."

However, I do think this second story by the Washington Post, Guam's Young, Steeped in History, Line Up to Enlist, struck me as a sensitive portrait of the island’s military traditions and explained why many young men and women enlist.

[I don’t know how long this links will be good; sometimes after 14 days the stories may become inaccessible]