[Gary Boldwater]

How long was Japan and Germany occupied?

[risk]

There are two ways to look at it. Japan's occupation lasted from 1945-1952 and was ended by the Treaty of San Francisco. Germany's occupation was 1945-49, according to Minxin Pei and Sara Kasper in "Lessons from the Past: The American Record in Nation-Building."

If we look at official occupation governments, we left these nations on the dates described above. But we are still in Japan, and are only now planning to leave Germany.

I think Rumsfeld is righ on in deciding to move our bases east. It's brilliant!

To me it is interesting to note that anti-semitism is on the rise in Germany and its alliance with France to dominate the EU is a grim reminder of the 20th century. Also, I have spoken with Japanese young people who believe America started WWII by blockading Japan, and would like to see Japan rise to become a world power again.