Auntie Charo's Soapbox

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060212a1.html
Here's what the search on the above revealed on the Marines and the almost $6Billion dollars it's going to cost to move our Marines out of Okinawa.
I quote the Japan Times per reader input:
"MOVING U.S. MARINES OUT OF OKINAWA

The Japan Times

February 12, 2006

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The U.S. Marine Corps has come up with a $ 5.6 billion
estimate and a four-stage process for constructing facilities in Guam
necessary to take in 6,000 marines from Okinawa by 2012, U.S. defense
sources said.

The calculations show the U.S. military has been working to determine a
substantive cost estimate behind the scenes as negotiations continue during
which Washington has presented an $ 8 billion estimate to Japan as the basis
for nailing down the cost of the move and their respective share of the
expenses.

The sources said Friday the total cost will probably end up at around $ 6
billion, indicating the U.S. eyes the figure as a possible compromise.

Japan will be expected to foot up to 60 percent of the bill.

The Marine Corps began the studies last year in preparations for launching
the project as soon as the two nations agree on an implementation plan to
move 7,000 marines out of Okinawa -- 6,000 to Guam and 1,000 to other places
in Japan -- under a broad package of accords reached in October on
realignment of the U.S. military presence.

The early action also reflects the fact that environmental impact studies
required for new facilities in Guam will take at least 12 months, the
sources said.

U.S. Defense Department officials declined to comment on the estimated cost
for the Guam construction but confirmed preliminary studies are being
carried out there. The Pentagon is seeking $ 15 million for the studies as
part of the fiscal 2007 budget.

"The funding will support preliminary studies, environment impact assessment
and planning and concept development associated with the Marine Corps
relocation," an official said. "There are numerous factors that must be
studied before we commit to building adequate facilities."

The sources said the Marine Corps has already sounded out Guam about the
need to include outside contractors and workers to double the annual
construction capacity there to $ 800 million, meaning the project would cost
some $ 5.6 billion under a seven-year 2012 completion goal targeted by Japan
and the United States.

The Marine Corps has also set a four-stage "road map" -- renovating existing
unused facilities, embarking on utility works, refurnishing and upgrading
existing in-use facilities, and lastly, starting construction of new
facilities, the sources said.

They said the Marine Corps plans to begin moving troops from Okinawa in 2008
but also has other options, such as starting to move some to renovated
facilities next July or January.

On the diplomatic side, the U.S. has come up with various cost estimates,
ranging from $ 3.5 billion to nearly $ 9 billion, and the two nations have
started to sort out necessary facilities based on the top-end estimate to
nail down the cost.

The initial low-end estimate was based on a local calculation that Guam's
current construction capacity is about $ 400 million annually and that the
project will take more than 10 years.

But given that the 2012 goal requires speeding up the project and bringing
in advanced construction technology, more outside contractors and workers,
the U.S. has revised the estimates upward.

The U.S. has officially set the total estimated cost at about $ 8 billion,
and is reportedly asking Japan to pay 75 percent, or about $ 6 billion.

But the top-end cost is aimed at facilitating the bilateral work to narrow
down necessary facilities, and it comprises the Marine Corps' full wish list
such as "world-class" training areas in Guam and the Northern Mariana
Islands, housing, medical facilities, schools, utility infrastructure and
bases, the sources said.

Should Washington be willing to pay $ 2 billion, or 25 percent of the $ 8
billion cost, the U.S. side is likely to settle with Japan's share of less
than 60 percent under a possible $ 6 billion compromise deal, one source
said.

But the source cautioned that the scenario is just simple arithmetic and is
separate from negotiation tactics.

Japan needs to reduce its burden as much as possible to gain domestic
support for a project that involves funding construction of military
facilities overseas for a foreign power, with uncertainties prevailing over
whether the Finance Ministry will fully accept such budget requests.

The sources said a final agreement depends on the extent of U.S. concessions
the cost of raising Guam's capacity, and how much of the burden Japan is
willing to share and if it would sacrifice the goal of completing the
relocation by 2012 to bring down the cost.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is committed to solving the cost issue,
especially given that the Pentagon is focused on Guam as the center of its
plan for a greater Pacific presence against China under the Quadrennial
Defense Review report issued last week.