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April 3rd, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda 
TROOP INFLUX: The first wave of US Marines arrived in Darwin yesterday as part of a defence agreement announced by Barack Obama. Picture: AP
Source: AP
CRITICS of the US troop build-up in Darwin remain cautious about the move, despite a recent meeting with a senior military official.
As many as 250 US Marines arrived in Darwin late yesterday, the first of a build-up that will see 2500 American troops in the city by 2017.
The troop influx comes after a defence agreement announced by Barack Obama when he visited Darwin in November.
Justin Tutty from the the Basewatch group in Darwin, which has been critical of the troop build-up, said he had met with Australian Major General Michael Krause, who is helping oversee the build-up.
Mr Tutty said that at the meeting last week, General Krause had dismissed concerns US troops would bring nuclear weapons or cluster munitions into Australia.
“All the concerns we have outlined as still present, none of them have been formally resolved,” Mr Tutty said.
“But we feel really good that at least they understand what those concerns are and they are verbally answering them correctly,” he said.
Mr Tutty said he wanted to see details of the assurances put into a legal document.
“It seems like we have all just got to get it all down in black and white, to make sure everything everyone agrees verbally is spelled out legally,” he said.
Lawyer Diana Rickard from Basewatch said she had concerns over the Status of Forces Agreement between Australia and the United States, which sets out the legal terms under which the US forces operate while in Australia.
She said the agreement could allow Americans to escape punishment for crimes committed in the course of their duties.
Executive director of the Australian Defence Association, Neil James, said US troops had been visiting Darwin for decades without serious problems.
Mr James said the Status of Forces Agreement had been in place since 1963 and if there were any problems with the new increase in troops, it could be addressed.
“The whole idea about having a tapered increase over a number of years is that you can iron out the problems before they become serious,” Mr James said.
“I honestly don’t think people are going to notice much, particularly in the early years,” Mr James said.
Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith will be in Darwin to greet the US Marines this morning.
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