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Posted on 10/29/2009 4:14:15 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar
The top commander of U.S. forces in Japan told Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Thursday it would be difficult to realize his suggested plan of transferring the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture to the nearby U.S. Kadena Air Base, a Japanese government source said.
SNIP
Lt. Gen. Rice cited difficulties with the plan from Okada and Tokyo.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
I say we remove our military presence entirely from Japan - Japan has the GDP and population to fend for itself if it wants to. Same goes for South Korea - if these people don't want us in their country, then let's pack up and leave. Oh, almost forgot, screw the Europeans too - I am tired of being berated and ridiculed by these people while at the same time we provide cover for them. Guess you can tell I'm on a roll, but I am sincere in what I say. Perhaps with the exception of Korea, these countries spend a far less percentage of their GDP for their security than the U.S. does. It's past time for them to start paying their fair share for their own defense. Enough!
If we had a real man and not some leftwing, marxist, muzzie pu**y-boy president... I’d suggest we just say “NO”!
LLS
It’s not clear of what the Japanese “suggestion” consists. I think the Kadena air base is also in Okinawa. If this were considered in a state-side setting, there would be people pushing it in hopes of developing the vacated land, and others looking for relief from noise. I’d need some background to reach the conclusion you offer. You may be right, but I don’t see a basis for it, in the article at least.
Futema MCAS is on the south edge of Kadena AB. Both are on the island of Okinawa.
Kadena Air Base (Air Force) is just a few miles away, and does have a huge air strip and operations complex.
I don't know for certain, but I would think that between Kadena Air Base, and the nearby Camp Foster (Marine Corps), there would be enough housing and billeting facilities to accommodate both services. The main problem would be the inter-service friction between Air Force vs. Marine Corps.
You are correct; both bases are located in Okinawa. And, if one should peel the onion, probably would find that this is an attempted land grab so to commercially develop the land. However, my statement/position was not just based upon this article. I have acquired this position over several years of reading/watching protests against U.S. military troops in these places, especially Europe, they have been the most vocal. It does seem as though the S. Koreans have cooled their jets a bit since the N. Koreans have been so belligerent lately. I have looked this data up before but am too lazy to do it right now, but the EU has a larger population than the U.S., larger GDP, but spends far less on their own defense than the U.S., measured either in absolute dollars or as a percentage of GDP.
Perhaps someone can explain to me why we gave Okinawa back to the Japanese? Seems to me that we (our fathers) fought and died for that piece of real estate. I’ve only been there twice, just passing through, in the 1960s. We owned the place then.
Ask Nixon.
It’s a bit late for that. Guess I should’ve done that when I met him in Saudi Arabia. Must’ve been blinded by all that star power.
That awe must of prevented you from questioning him about wage and price controls and the silly notion that we are all Keynesians now, too.
It never even crossed my mind. We were introduced by the Ambassador and then he was ushered out of my presence.
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