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nurizeko said:Its a safe bet to simply state that the reasons for the US being in Japan and the Japanese allowing the US there far outweigh the cons.
Japan never paid a penny in reparations,basically got away with murder of 20-40 million mostly yellow folks
Sukotto said:That will never happen. The US economy may implode, but it is very highly unlikely that the US could ever be defeated militarily, many people agree.
Excellent points!Elizabeth van Kampen said:But why on earth has the USA treated Japan so completely different from Germany at the end of WWII?
You don't remember the rapid-fire succession of countries Stalin's tanks rolled into during the late 1940s or 1950s? You don't remember the Berlin Blockade? And you don't remember when Khruschev stuck missiles in Cuba? It's not amazing that we were scared. It's frickin' obvious we were, and we had every reason to be.Was the USA so scared for China, for Russia in those days? Amazing.
It can't. Their very constitution forbids an army larger than the Self-Defense Force.Han-chan said:The mentality of the US is like if Japan was still occupied. This is one of the main reasons for why many japanese would like to see the US forces go - no matter that the country is not able to defend itself right now.
I had a great-uncle who remembers the Italians lynching Mussoulini and dragging him through the streets. While he did make the trains run on time, not too many Italians really wanted to get bogged down in Ethiopia, nor did they like the idea of having German "allies" occupy their country in order to "help" fight off the Americans and British.The historic and political differences were many, but one thing makes me wonder: Why does no one seem to have any hang-ups regarding the Italians?
WHAT? What Americans are you talking to? Half the Americans under the age of 25 think the Cold War was just a story made up by the Republicans. When I think of Soviets I think of the Cold War. When I think of Russians I think of hot women, cold weather, Stolichnaya vodka, and organized crime.Crazy Russian said:They seem to me to still have the Cold War mentality.
1) Our president is not raping our mind. We are quite divided on politics right now. It is almost as bad as our political divisions on the eve of our Civil War in 1861.Don't let your president rape your mind, please. And believe me that the Chinese, the Iraqi, the North Koreans, etc., are not your enemies.
Those who unleash wars are our common enemies.
Consequently:
George W. Bush and Ehud Olmert are our common enemies.
Well done! No sophistry. Just simple (and irrefutable) logic, isn't it?
So Stalin was championing stability when he invaded Eastern European countries?The wars you country has waged are stupid and nonsensical. They have been waged for the sole purpose of destabilising the world.
Russia saved the world from Napoleon and Hitler.
On the one hand, I am delighted with Napoleon. He was genius and one of the greatest human beings ever. He braved the world.
On the other hand, I am delighted with the Russian soldiers who beat the Napoleon's Army (perhaps, the Greatest Army ever) when it invaded the Russian Empire.
Because the British Empire was so war-weary by that point. The British of the 1880s would have massacred him and his followers.Sukotto said:Mahatam Ghandi & the Indian people defeated (the British) empire without war/violence
GodEmperorLeto said:Well, there's an old Roman saying, "A bad peace is even worse than war."
Sukotto said:Tell that to those who are killed.
the ancient Romans were imperialist meanies.
And weren't the Greeks a bunch of militarists too?{/QUOTE]
The Greeks had a society based around the polis. Military service was the duty of every citizen. You did not deserve a voice in the governing of your country if you were not willing to put your life on the line for it. If that were true today, there'd be plenty of Democrats and Republicans without the right to vote today.
Considering your comment about "telling that to those who were killed", you probably would be bereft of the right to vote as well.
I prefer Mark Twain:
"An inglorious peace is better than a dishonorable war."
What makes a war dishonorable?
Besides, Mark Twain didn't do much fighting during the U.S. Civil War, he was part of a Confederate militia that disbanded after two weeks. What would he know about dishonorable war? Not all war is dishonorable. Despite what American Southerners might say about the "War of Northern Aggression", any man who dies fighting to preserve an idea and to free other men is a hero to me.
'When I think of Russians I think of hot women, cold weather, Stolichnaya vodka, and organized crime.'
'Some of us think Al Qaeda and the Iraqi insurgents are our enemies'
'Who unleashed a war in Chechniya?'
'You say this, and then you laud Napoleon later?'
'Your hero-worship of Napoleon is hypocritical. The man was a tyrant who manipulated a frightened France that had undergone a decade of chaos during the Reign of Terror. He modeled his ascension to the throne after Augustus, and called himself l'empereur. His greed and ambition knew no boundaries. However, given how much the Russians are Francophiles, I'm not surprised you'd stylize him as a great man while lumping all Americans together as a ragtag bunch of bullies and assholes.'
'A bad peace is even worse than war.'
'So Stalin was championing stability when he invaded Eastern European countries?'
'Let's run down the gamut of American wars.'
'...preserving the sovereignty of South Korea...'
'We were fighting alongside the South Vietnamese army to keep South Vietnam from becoming Communist, just like in Korea.'
'Wellington saved the world from Napoleon.'
too early...U.S. Forces in Japan > America Should Get Out of Japan, Now!!!
caster51 said:The United States profit is to continue straining to Asia,that is to sell the weapons.
Japan should do the constitutional revision. article 9 is meaningless.
kirby36 said:Article 9 in Japan's Constititution is mumbo jumbo of meaningless words without American military presence to enforce it.
Sukotto said:Why can't countries just follow the example of Costa Rica and not even have a military?
They also have a high level of literacy.
"Getting educated. That's for nerds!"
Many parts of the world think war is archaic.
"They're just wimps and don't have guts."
GodEmperorLeto said:World War II (1941-1945): We fought this war because the Japanese and Germans declared war on us. By the way, this, again, was already tearing up Europe. And we were isolationist before and didn't want to get involved.
Why couldn't Australia and the British occupy Japan together with the USA
just after the war? Once again; why this difference between Japan and Germany, while they were both the enemies during World War Two?
You have a too one sided view on the military the military is of course yoused to kill in times of war ,or if you decide to invade a country because criminals are hiding out there and kill loads of innocent people as you will have seen very well demonstrated by the isrealy army =)
But the military also provides jobs it in some way is a social net for people to fall into if they lose their job or have a simular problem.
And it can also be very helpdfull to well soften the blow of natural disasters.
Seems like some lessons in Realpoltik should be required reading.
Dr. Henry helped defeat the USSR. And your definition of realpoltik is, well, weird. It's simply the advancement of national interest. If you don't believe national interest is "real" then plz pass me some of them drugs....
It's in the national interest of the US to keep sea and air lanes of communication (aka trade) open. Japan and the US are linked at the hip as economies. So instead of asking "should the US military leave Japan," a more appropriate question might be why would the US willing leave a forward deployed location with much of the expense born by the host nation? Don't you think it kinda helps the US deal with the few remaining communists such as N Korea and China?
Also, why would Japan want the US to leave? You don't think they like the status quo?
I'm just trying to think about this from a rational point of view...