U.S. general hail `historic' move by Japan to send troops to Iraq

[Judi Lynn]

U.S. general hail `historic' move by Japan to send troops to Iraq

JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer Monday, January 12, 2004



(01-12) 02:17 PST TOKYO (AP) --

After 50 years of pacifism, Japan is cautiously raising its military profile, deploying troops to aid in the reconstruction of Iraq and debating its own role in international affairs.

But these steps, while receiving praise from the Bush administration, have their critics, some of whom have long memories of Japanese brutality during World War II.

Japan is poised to send hundreds of troops to rebuild schools, restore water services and provide medical care in a region of southern Iraq.

Some in the Bush administration and at the Pentagon hope the deployment marks the first step in drawing Japan into a taking a more active role in U.S.-supported military operations.

They would be happy to see Japan evolve into an ally like Australia, willing to commit its high-tech combat forces to coalition operations around the world, according to a western diplomat in Tokyo, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
(snip/...)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/01/12/international0445EST0451.DTL

[Zech Marquis]

1. in six months or so

I bet Koizumi will be in the boat as tha other poodle Blair..Koizumi had the gall to visit Yasukuni on New Year's Day, dressed in his solem kimono too. These recent moves will NOT make thigs any easier in east Asia, those WWOO memories are still fresh in many peple's minds...

[Art_from_Ark]

2. I saw this on Japanese TV

Just about spilled my cookies.

The only thing "historic" about this move is that Japan, at the urging of the US, has finally violated Article 9 of its US-given Constitution by sending troops to a foreign war zone.

[Zech Marquis]

4. yeah,"given"

since it's really a US written Constituion, Japan is "excused" for ignoring it right? :eyes:

[Art_from_Ark]

5. Not sure how to interpret your post, Zech

At any rate, I was merely pointing out the irony that the country that forced Japan to repudiate the sending of its troops overseas is the same country that has now "convinced" Japan to send troops to a foreign country.

[Judi Lynn]

8. You could be sure they would be forbidden to do this

if it were not in the service of its former conquerors.

Pure exploitation, nothing less. You're right.

[loudnclear]

9. Good point!

You are right on target!
I wonder how much this decision cost us?

[psychopomp]

6. PM Koizumi is seizing the momentum

gained from his coalition party's majority polling last year. Now, he is boldly hoping that nobody remembers his standard explanation of his Yasukuni visits:

"I wish to pay my respects to the war dead out of my conviction that we should never again cause or take part in a war."



South Korean men cut off their fingertips in protest PM Koizumi's Yasukuni visit in 2001

[westman]

7. The world has changed in the 60 years

since the constitution was written.

[NickB79]

15. Ah yes

That's why its ok for Bush and friends to violate the US Constitution, correct? After all, if the Japanese constitution is outdated after 60 yrs, ours must be really, really outdated after 200+ years.

[BenFranklinUSA]

3. Eddie Izzard rules!

Lightheartedly submitted:

Comedian Izzard suggested in one of his bits that Germany and Japan were perfectly suited to peacekeeping because their "been-there-done-that-and-failed" experience.

Seriously though:

This is actually a step toward removing US militray interests in Japan (as they become more self-sufficient militarily). They really need this "test", both practically and politically at home.

[stevedeshazer]

10. Great. All hail

the re-militarization of Japan. :-(

[malachi]

11. Japan - not much convincing necessary

My son just returned from studying in Tokyo for six months and he said that he was surprised at the amount of bitterness still displayed by a large number of Japanese unwilling to forget or forgive their humiliating defeat by the US in WWII. There seems to be an undercurrent of militarism running through Japanese society.

[LeftistGorilla]

13. no secret to ....

people living in Asia...

[Art_from_Ark]

17. I don't know which Japanese university your son attended, but

Japanese universities, like universities around the world, tend to have students who are very passionate about their beliefs, moreso than the population at large.

Basically, there are two kinds of resentment toward the US that one encounters at Japanese universities-- the resentment about losing the war (or, more accurately, about ignoring the Japanese version of events), and the resentment about still not having a truly independent country, nearly 60 years after the war ended. Generally speaking, the former view is held by the right wing, the latter by the left wing.

The right-wingers on campus may raise the call for militarism, but, like the College Republicans, they will be the last to volunteer for the military, even given that they could now join and be sent to some far-off land to carry their country's banner.

As for the population at large, there is very little support for sending Japanese troops to Iraq.

[Just Me]

12. Why do they coin "defense -only" as "pacifism"?

Japan never gave up its right to militarily defend itself which is different from "pacifism".

[NickB79]

16. I don't think anyone is advocating pacifism for the Japanese

The right of the Japanese people to defend their country from attacks is a right shared by all humans. However, there was no Iraqi-led attack on any Japanese cities. It was a huge stretch for the US to go from fighting Al Queda to invading Iraq. Without a similar 9-11 style attack on Japanese soil, its an even greater jump to say that sending Japanese troops to Iraq is self-defense.

[teryang]

14. Meyer is an idiot lackey

...of the dim son. He has done more harm to the armed forces than any Chairman since the Vietnam conflict. His pretense of understanding world strategy is a joke.

[Zech Marquis]

18. to be more blunt

Meyer is simply a yes man--"Yes sir, that worthless missile defense will prtect us, no matter what our rigged testing says otherwise!" "Yes sir, we can lease all those tankers from Boeing, even if it is a shady deal!", and "yes sir, things are going just dandy in Iraq, let's go after Iran and Syria next!" :eyes: