Taiwan's Pro-Independence Parties Defeated

I had to come back to this comment: "The Pacific vets are understandibly angry at the Japanese, but I think that anger is matched by ETO veterans once you bring the death camps issue up."

I don't think the ETO soldiers love the Nazis, but they don't viscerally hate Germans the way many Pacific vets and many Americans of that era hate the Japanese. The Germans weren't suicidal. They didn't sneak attack us. They didn't uniformly mistreat their prisoners. They didn't demand an apology for us bombing their country.

I agree that right now Japan is not a threat. But that is not to say that the same industrialists that were so gung-ho behind the war ever left power--we never cleaned that gang out. Should have been a lot of swinging going on, just like the Krupps should have danced on a rope, but we decided otherwise, foolishly, I think.

After viewing the Yasukuni shrine 'explanations' of the Rape of Nanking and Pearl Harbor, I wouldn't give Japan any more than they need to defend themselves, and nukes are way down on the list of things they NEED. They have a very high-tech defense force already. Let's help them defend themselves, but we must make sure the cultural superiority that remains ingrained doesn't sprout wings again militarily. And if you doubt that it is a culturally ingrained superiority, look how the country's people still treat Ainu, Koreans, and any non-pure-blood Japanese. It may be better than it was, but most of the country would still freak about a "Look Who's Coming To Dinner" situation.

They have obviously realized that capitalism is far superior to communism,

Just the opposite. You said yourself it's a Commie government, AND the economic power of the world - both. Give the 'greedy capitalists' the rope, and the Commie will hang them. I think it's an old Commie promise, er . . saying.

If they can't get a puppet government in Taiwan to voluntarily surrender sovereignty, they'll attack at some point. They'll go in, just like Saddam in Kuwait.

It's not like Taiwan gets any support from the UN (which has gotta go), or even the international Oly committee - with their pagan-tree ceremonies.

If they can't get a puppet government in Taiwan to voluntarily surrender sovereignty, they'll attack at some point. They'll go in, just like Saddam in Kuwait.

It is sad that so much of the world disavow's Taiwan's right to exist. If the PRC's attack is inevitable than the US should stop it and before the PRC modernizes enough to take on the US directly.

I just doubt that any Japanese PM or Diet leader would cripple his own political career in calling for rearmament.

To MacArthur's great credit, he did fundamentally reshape Japanese society and economy for the better, by getting rid of most(not all) of the industralist/militarists types after WWII.

Japan may be more of a problem in 2030, but I see China as more of a 2010 threat.

"It may be better than it was, but most of the country would still freak about a "Look Who's Coming To Dinner" situation."

Unfortunately, I think you could still see that in this country as well.

the PRC modernizes enough to take on the US directly.

That's what is inevitable. They will. Remember the Korean War. 40-50 years ago the Chicoms were considered so threatening that the US/UN literally stopped fighting a war out of fear - fear, the US was afraid of the 'yellow peril', of the numbers, and the nukes. That was half a century ago.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.