We're leaving. Now. BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - U.S. Marines have scaled back their planned tsunami aid efforts after reaching a compromise with the government and agreeing not to carry weapons or set up a base camp on Indonesian soil, an American spokesman said Wednesday. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is leading the U.S. military's relief effort, steamed out of Indonesian waters Wednesday because the country declined to let the ship's fighter pilots use its airspace for training missions. Helicopters will still deliver aid to Sumatra's devastated coast, however. Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said foreign troops would be out of the country by the end of March. "A three-month period is enough, even the sooner the better," he said. The moves underscore sensitivities in nationalistic Indonesia at having foreign military forces operating there, even in a humanitarian operation. They also come amid warnings from the Indonesian military that areas of tsunami-battered Aceh province may not be safe for aid workers.
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