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Thanks, Japan.

We'll all pretend that your cooperativeness has nothing to do with the madman sitting on your doorstep.

We'll all pretend that your cooperativeness has nothing to do with the madman sitting on your doorstep.

LOL. For right now, let's just overlook that part, ok?

It's true that Japan is aware that a strong US is needed to deal with the North Korea problem, and they have a vested interest in supporting us. The North Korea problem is really China using North Korea to create problems for us, and get us out of the far east. Japan obviously doesn't want us out of the area.

I must add that believe it or not, however, the country whose UN voting record has historically most closely mirrored our own is Japan. Japan has been a very consistent and WILLING ally of the US since WWII. While not a major military power, they are a powerful friend because of the enormous size and technological prowess of their economy (second only to our own). This gives us additional leverage around the world with many nations, including Mexico.

It's also worth noting that since 1854, Japan has been friendly to the US with the exception of the years 1924 to 1945. In 1924, Congress passed the Japanese exclusion act which prohibited further Japanese emigration to this country, and which the Japanese found highly offensive. Even a cursory examination of FDR's behavior toward Japan reveals that he was deliberately prodding Japan towards war with us. Hoover later wrote that "If you put enough pins in a rattlesnake, it will bite." Pearl Harbor didn't happen in a vacuum. FDR had in the months previous seized all Japanese assets in the US (a recognized act of war), and refused to sell them oil or other raw materials. While Japan was stupid to bomb Pearl Harbor (a military installation unlike WTC), FDR had backed them into a corner where Japan felt war was inevitable. FDR has as much or more to blame for Pearl Harbor as Japan did.

Pragmatist