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TITLE: Sub Civilian Was Top Republican |
AUTHOR: Michael Millett |
DATE: February 17, 2001 |
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Japan has sent an envoy to the United States to demand a full explanation for the sinking of a Japanese trawler by a US nuclear submarine, as news reports confirmed that at least one member of a guest party on board was a senior Republican Party figure. Senior Vice-Foreign Minister Sishiro Eto will demand that search operations continue for nine people who were on board the Ehime Maru and are still missing, presumed dead. Japan has condemned the US Navy for allowing civilians to be at the control stations of the submarine, which was hosting 16 civilian guests. One of the guests of Commander Scott Waddle, the submarine's captain, was what one US newspaper called a Republican "fat cat" with connections to President George Bush. Fourteen of the 16 were donors to a private, non-profit foundation that is restoring the World War II battleship Missouri and whose honorary chairman is the former president George Bush. It was on the deck of the Missouri that Japan's leaders surrendered on September 2, 1945, marking the end of the war in the Pacific. The trip was, apparently, to thank them for their support. "It is outrageous. [The US Navy] is slack," the chief of the Japanese Defence Agency, Toshitsugu Saito, said at a news conference, of the civilians' presence at the controls. President Bush ordered a review of all policies on civilian activity during military exercises after USS Greeneville surfaced rapidly off Hawaii, hitting and sinking the Japanese trawler, which was carrying high school fisheries students. The manoeuvre was apparently performed for the entertainment of the guests, two of whom were seated at controls on the submarine's bridge deck. Five of the 35 crew on the trawler drowned. Four 17-year-old students on a study trip were among those missing and presumed drowned. In Tokyo, the Prime Minister, Mr Yoshiro Mori, is clinging to office by his fingertips, with some senior figures in his Liberal Democratic Party openly calling for a leadership vote next month. A junior coalition partner, New Komeito, yesterday refused to rule out support for a no-confidence motion. Mr Mori was roundly criticised for staying on the golf course after being informed of the trawler's sinking. His stock sank further yesterday after it was revealed that a businessman had bankrolled his 40 million yen ($650,000) golf club membership. Navy officials have confirmed that at the time the Greeneville pierced the hull of the Ehime Maru, sending the trawler and nine of its crew to the ocean floor, two civilians were in the main control positions of the sub. They are adamant that while the VIPs may have had their hands on the controls, they were in no way responsible for the emergency ballast blow that sent the Greeneville rocketing to the surface, or for the crash that followed. The navy has refused to release the names of the civilian guests, citing privacy concerns, although two of them have appeared on US television recounting their version of the events leading up to the collision. One, Mr John Hall, said he had accepted an invitation from the Greeneville's commander to pull the levers to begin the surface drill. The nearest crew member was seated right next to him "elbow to elbow". "I mean, what's important to know here is you don't do anything on this vessel without someone either showing you how to do it, telling you how to do it, or escorting you around," Mr Hall told NBC's Today show. Both men said Commander Waddle had carried out numerous safety checks, including a periscope sweep, before beginning the dive and subsequent ascent. Mr Hall said he distinctly remembered a loud bang and the submarine shuddering, followed by Commander Waddle's exclamation: "Jesus, what the hell was that?" Speaking before a budget meeting in Washington, President Bush said the Hawaiian tragedy had made it necessary for the Pentagon "to review all policy regarding civilian activity during military exercises". Rear Admiral Steve Pietropaoli said that it had been navy policy for decades to allow civilians to visit bases and view manoeuvres as a way of bolstering public appreciation of and support for the armed forces. Pentagon officials said Commander Waddle could face a court martial if he was found to have caused the accident. END |