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Michelle Malkin: Reparations for Internment Were Just a Curtsy to Political Correctness
The San Francisco Chronicle ^ | September 5, 2004 | Michelle Malkin

Posted on 09/05/2004 6:47:31 PM PDT by quidnunc

Sixteen years ago, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, proclaiming it "a great day for America." It provided $1.65 billion in restitution to 82,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry who had been subjected to evacuation, relocation and internment during World War II.

Although it was almost universally hailed at the time, the decision was one of Reagan's biggest blunders. In a rare capitulation to political correctness, Reagan ignored the advice of his own military and legal experts who opposed wartime reparations for ethnic Japanese evacuees and internees. The road to reparations was paved with injustice, intellectual dishonesty and incompetence. The panel created by Congress to assess whether the evacuation and relocation of West Coast ethnic Japanese were militarily necessary didn't include anyone with a military or intelligence background. The 500-page report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians devoted just 10 pages to intelligence.

Worse, the commission failed to acknowledge the existence of long- declassified MAGIC cables — which revealed Japan's extensive espionage activities on the West Coast — until after it had published its famous indictment that wartime relocation and internment were the result of "race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership." The commission's legal counsel hastily dismissed MAGIC's importance in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's decision to approve Executive Order 9066 and the West Coast evacuation.

-snip-

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Extended News; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: internment; japaneseamericans; malkin; reparations; turass
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To: spyone
spyone wrote: Yes, almost all were American citizens, 99.9% were patriotic citizens who had their businesses, assets, etc. confiscated. This thread should die.

No, that's not quite the case.

There were many who were loyal to the Empire of Japan.

The problem was that we could not just arrest the spies and troublemakers without tipping Japan off that we had broken their diplomatic code.

Consequently, moved all Japanese from the West Coast and we didn't do anything with Japanese in other parts of the US unless they were aliens.

Incidently, we didn't intern the Japanese, we excluded thm from the West Coast.

Those with someplace to go inland could go there instead of to a camp if they were citizen.

21 posted on 09/05/2004 7:17:41 PM PDT by quidnunc (Omnis Gaul delenda est)
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To: Honestfreedom

Another good point is that, unlike with slavery reparations, the internees were still alive and around to be actually repaid, not their distant descendants.


22 posted on 09/05/2004 7:22:30 PM PDT by SedVictaCatoni (Z '08)
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To: quidnunc

They were interned and their assets and businesses were seized.


23 posted on 09/05/2004 7:23:23 PM PDT by spyone
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To: quidnunc
Many of the West Coast Japanese were employed in the vast West Coast aeronautics industry.
24 posted on 09/05/2004 7:27:31 PM PDT by fat city (Julius Rosenberg's soviet code name was "Liberal")
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To: headsonpikes

thanks... I prayed tonight for the little innocents in Russia. I think by the grace of God only that it has not happened here again.


25 posted on 09/05/2004 7:28:22 PM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: spyone
spyone wrote: They were interned and their assets and businesses were seized.

Read your history.

26 posted on 09/05/2004 7:30:12 PM PDT by quidnunc (Omnis Gaul delenda est)
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To: cyborg

On one hand, I hear you, because at the outset it appears so wrong (racism being in question and all).

On the other hand, if all the people of Japanese ancestry interned during WWII were either only of Japanese citizenship or dual citizens who refused to renounce their Japanese citizenship, wouldn't it change the perspective quite dramatically?


27 posted on 09/05/2004 7:34:33 PM PDT by k2blader (It is neither compassionate nor conservative to support the expansion of socialism.)
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To: fat city
fat city wrote: Many of the West Coast Japanese were employed in the vast West Coast aeronautics industry.

It was because so much vital industry, especially our aircraft industry, was located onm the West Coast that the Japanese were excluded.

We did not have adequate resources at the time to defend against sabotage.

28 posted on 09/05/2004 7:34:55 PM PDT by quidnunc (Omnis Gaul delenda est)
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To: quidnunc

None were interned and none had their assets seized? Gimme a break!


29 posted on 09/05/2004 7:39:11 PM PDT by spyone
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To: quidnunc
The commission's legal counsel hastily dismissed MAGIC's importance in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's decision to approve Executive Order 9066 and the West Coast evacuation.
Nice of a SF newspaper to run a story like this, what with Reagan recently deceased and still being mourned, and an election going down the tubes for the Demagogic Party. It'll try anything to split off a few Bush supporters. The reason these reparations were done is to pull down the Marble Man version of FDR.
George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent

30 posted on 09/05/2004 7:39:28 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Unlike some people, I have a profile. Okay, maybe it's a little large...)
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To: k2blader

That would be different, and I did read her book so my views about it have softened. Seeing as how I was not there I'm not going to play sixty year hindsight about this issue. Every article I've seen her write lately is about PC this and that, but she does have a new book so I can't blame her really.


31 posted on 09/05/2004 7:40:02 PM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: k2blader

yes, that would change the situation. But it wasn't the situation.


32 posted on 09/05/2004 7:40:45 PM PDT by spyone
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To: John Thornton
How much did Japan pay the prisoners of war forced on the Bataan death march?

$0.00

33 posted on 09/05/2004 7:44:54 PM PDT by Missouri (Deport Te-rah-sa)
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To: spyone
pyone wrote: None were interned and none had their assets seized? Gimme a break!

I didn't say none.

Obviously those who were considered to be a threat or who were enemy aliens by law were interned.

The camp for these hard cases was originally at Thule Lake, CA, but they were subsequently moved to Arizona.

However, the others who were not considered to be threats could leave the camps if they had some place inland to go.

34 posted on 09/05/2004 7:46:01 PM PDT by quidnunc (Omnis Gaul delenda est)
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To: cyborg

Wherever there are Muslims mixed with other cultures, there is death and destruction, unless they are a tiny minority. Look around. WAKE UP!


35 posted on 09/05/2004 7:46:58 PM PDT by Dec31,1999 (www.protestwarrior.com)
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To: quidnunc

Tell me what percentage then. I know in your country, Canada, virtually 100% were interned and their assets seized.


36 posted on 09/05/2004 7:48:27 PM PDT by spyone
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To: cyborg

Fair enough.

I'm actually not convinced every person in those camps was either only of Japanese citizenship or had failed to renounce his/her Japanese citizenship.

Not sure if Malkin is able to prove this without a doubt (I haven't yet read her book).


37 posted on 09/05/2004 7:51:58 PM PDT by k2blader (It is neither compassionate nor conservative to support the expansion of socialism.)
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To: spyone

Do you have any sources?

I'm interested in learning the truth about this citizenship issue.


38 posted on 09/05/2004 7:52:55 PM PDT by k2blader (It is neither compassionate nor conservative to support the expansion of socialism.)
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To: k2blader

When I read the book, I got the impression that it was more disarm the liberal claims of apartheid like oppression about ethnic profiling. The people that need to read the book aren't going to read the book though. It would only be us conservatives reading it *lol*


39 posted on 09/05/2004 7:57:46 PM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: k2blader

2/3's according to this link.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/internment1.html


40 posted on 09/05/2004 8:00:47 PM PDT by spyone
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