SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) --Puerto Rico's governor said she is worried that the
war in Afghanistan may prompt the U.S. military to resume training with live bombs on
the island of Vieques, a prospect that the U.S. territory bitterly opposes.

Gov. Sila Calderon, in a letter to U.S. Navy Secretary Gordon England, said the use
of live-fire training on the island of 9,100 people would outrage Puerto Ricans.

"Such a decision would inflame passions among protesters and create a very
sensitive situation for all concerned," Calderon wrote in the letter dated Friday but
released to media Saturday.

In the letter, Calderon referred to a phone conversation last week with England in
which she urged him to reject a request made by Navy and Marine Corps
commanders for the U.S. government to allow a limited amount of live bombing on
Vieques in January.

Calderon did not say how, or through what sources, she learned of the request.

Officials with the Navy, which runs the Vieques training ground, did not return calls
Saturday asking for comment.

On Friday, The Washington Times published a report based on what the newspaper
said was a letter sent to England by Gen. James Jones, the Marine commandant, and
Adm. Vern Clark, chief of naval operations.

The newspaper said the letter cited the war on terrorism as a reason to let U.S.
forces use some live munitions during training by the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft
carrier battle group in January.

The military stopped using live explosives on Vieques after bombs dropped off target
killed a civilian security guard on the range in 1999, triggering demonstrations.

Under an agreement signed last year between former President Clinton and
then-Gov. Pedro Rossello, the Navy was forced to switch to dummy bombs.
President Bush has said the Navy should abandon the training areas in Vieques no
later than May 2003.

The Navy's bombing range covers 900 acres on the island's eastern tip, about 10
miles from civilian areas.

Residents claim the bombing has stunted economic development, hurt the
environment and endangered their health. The Navy said the environmental damage
is minimal and there is no evidence of health effects.

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.