Posted on 10/19/2006 9:27:34 PM PDT by AmericanExceptionalist
The first stop on Condoleezza Rice's post-detonation, nuclear reassurance tour was Tokyo. There she dutifully unfurled the American nuclear umbrella, pledging in person that the United States would meet any North Korean attack on Japan with massive American retaliation, nuclear if necessary.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
That's why Japan is such a great US ally . . . because everyone else hates Japan. Japan is like Israel. Everyone else in the world hates the country.
Unfortunately, Japan, like Israel, needs nukes. The US can't be trusted as an ally and may cut-and-run as it did in Vietnam, and as the Dems are threatening to do now in Iraq.
It's far better to have nukes and not need them, then to need nukes and not have them.
Except the US can't afford for the Far East to turn into the Middle East. The US needs to have not just Japan, but also South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, the Philipines, etc. in its sphere of influence, not China's, if it wants to contain China. Also, I'm not sure that Japan sees its relations with the US in quite the same way that Israel does.
Put yourself in Japan's shoes. Would you trust the Americans to come to your aid? Now? Sure, but how about 5 years from now under the Clinton or Obama administration? When you've got nukes you never need to worry about whether someone else will provide your deterent for you.
Well, I might be wrong, but I thought Taiwanese industry would be capable of producing missiles with adequate range. I'm talking about technological capability to produce, not whether they can legally. IIRC South Korea was pressured not to produce ballistic missiles by us a while back. Maybe we've got something like that in place for the ROC.
I don't know why we're so reluctant to share technology with Taiwan (they're still using upgraded Kidd-class destroyers IIRC). Are we behind them or not (but that's another issue).
I understand why Japan wants nukes. But I don't see how the US would want Japan to get nukes. A nuclear Japan would increase China's power relative to the US enormously. A slight increase in Japanese peace of mind results in a tremendous decrease in American regional influence.
If we're talking about historical hegemony, Korea'd do well to remember that China dominated them for a good deal of their history. The same goes for much of Asia. The Vietnamese still remember Chinese domination, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't want a return to that past.
Apart from a few pirates here and there and the brief moment of expansionism, Japan has left well enough alone for most of its history. Unless I'm forgeting something. :)
Because it could prevent both a war and a human tragedy. Our nukes probably won't always be a deterent to North Korea attacking Japan and we shouldn't have to put ourselves in the position of risking WW3 to defend a country with the means to defend itself.
Japan or German will not ask you if they see the necessity of a own nuclear force. It will happen silent and fast - just like it happened in Israel a long time ago. No offical statements but everybody will know that they have damm good working nukes since we do not have to discuss the technical skills of those countries.
It is not probable that Germany will produce its own nukes in the near future, because it is under the direct nuclear umbrella of France. In difference to the US the defense of a nuclear attack in Germany would also be a question of survival for France. Everybody in Germany knows that. The confidence into the US upon this question is not that strong anymore in the meantime.
I assume that the Japanese have the same reservations (as long as we talk about this question) against the US just as political Germany has. In difference to Germany they have no "nuclear" neighbour that is "married" (sarcasm) to them. Therefore it is not sure to me if they not already rule over a nuclear inventory. If I would be the Japanese prime minister I would.
Forget South Korea. That's just the France of the far east.
Forget Indonesia. That's 98% radical Islamics, working on ethnically cleansing the 2% Christians from their islands. The US would have about as much chance as getting Indonesia on its side as it would Iran. Remember the Tsunami? How grateful was Indonesia for US aid?
The Philippines, maybe. They kicked the US out of their bases there, but they need help fighting of the Islamofacists.
Thailand, not much of chance. They just had a military coup and installed a Muslim PM, and the Islamofacsits are advancing from the south.
Taiwan, yes. That's another country without allies. Vulnerable and nobody will stick up for them because if you do, you invite powerful enemies. It's sort of like being friends with Israel. Say something bad about both countries and hopefully China and the Islamofascists will leave you alone.
Despite his newness, I tend to agree with him and welcome him to FR.
Japan has never even come to terms with its history. They are a homogenous people who let a demi-god like dictator lead them to a disatrous war and now they are trying to gloss over the ill deeds they did. Better to keep that nuclear genie in the bottle. Besides, they could build nukes in 3-6 months anyway.
Being nuked . . . twice, and occupied for seven years, which to some degree is still ongoing as the Russians refuse to return the Kurile islands isn't enough atonement. Being Japanese is like being white. You have to pay for the sins of your ancestors FOREVER.
As for being homogenous, what's wrong with that? Should Japan open its islands to unrestricted immigration and let Islamofacist immigrants pour in until they're a major threat like in EuroArabia?
There is nothing wrong with being homogenuous per se. However, it allows for the much easier creation of an "us" vs "them" mentality as well as claims of genetic superiority.
It is easier to justify destroying your enemy completely and indiscriminately if you can claim that you and your people are the only true pure humans.
Homogeneity is much more fertile ground for racist/facist thinking.
Moreover, I am not asking Japan to "pay for its sins" but rather to stop trying to gloss over the history of the atrocities they committed. It must be taught to the children no matter how painful. You will find that I will advocate this for any peoples regardless of their color.
You seem to have a very unusual chip on your shoulder regarding this subject. Care to tell us why?
Whitey should pay for the sins of their ancestors forever. Sounds fair to me. A few of whitey's sins: (1) stealing the land from the American Indians, (2) nuking the Japanese; (3) interning Japanese Americans; (4) enslaving Africans and then discriminating against them even after they were emancipated; (5) cutting-and-running from its south Vietnamese allies; (6) stealing the American southwest from Mexico. The list just goes on and on.
Wrong. Wrong. And...wrong.
South Korea is about as vital to US interests in Asia as France is to US interests in Europe. We have wasted a lot of blood and treasure to prop up an "ally" that goes against our interests at every turn. Yet, like the French dependence upon NATO, Seoul screams like a child when the US mentions troop withdrawals from the DMZ.
Let them posture like the silly "progressives" in France. They are well aware who keeps the wolves at bay.
Ditto the rest of the Pacific rim countries. Their fear of an expansionist China greatly outweighs any traces of animosity towards WWII Japan, who BTW has a modern history of nothing but peaceful relations with its neighbors.
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