Posted on 05/07/2010 8:32:56 AM PDT by Thurston_Howell_III
Japan's base dispute with America
Futenma farce There is little to cheer in a shoddily executed about-face on Okinawa May 6th 2010 | TOKYO | From The Economist print edition
Hatoyama loses another future voter YUKIO HATOYAMA, Japans leader, does not exude political gravitas. So it was dispiritingly in-character that when he made an announcement on May 4th that could make or break his premiership, he did so on a national holiday, speaking unpersuasively to the very people most likely to disapprove of what he said.
The bombshell he dropped on his first visit as prime minister to the island of Okinawa was that he was backtracking on what has become the most sensitive promise of last years election campaignto move an American marine base off the island and possibly out of Japan altogether. It sounded like the change of heart that America has been waiting for for months. Yet the silence from Washington after his visit to Okinawa was ominous, speaking eloquently of an apparent lack of faith in Mr Hatoyama himself.
His explanation, as far as it went, made sense, though it took a painfully long time to reach. After long deliberation, the prime minister said, he had concluded that the security of a region with a nuclear-armed, reckless North Korea depends, in part, on having some American marines in Okinawa. But instead of seizing the opportunity to explain to Okinawans how American troops help keep the peace, he referred to the soldiers dismissively as a burden that had to be shared by Okinawans.
(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...
They need us. Send them the bill.
Why are we leaving our troops in South Korea as a target for a North Korea armed with atomic bombs and governed by a maniac?
I wonder how many years it takes to allow South Korea to build itself up so that it can defend itself.
Do we keep out troops there to permit us to place intelligence gathering facilities closer to N.K. and CHina?
The South Koreans should be able to handle themselves by now.
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