U.S. base in Okinawa

[kendoiwan]

Just an example of why people who don't live here would have a less than favorable opinion of us as a nation. The fine folks in Japan don't want the base there. And yet it is still there because we say so. Kind of like other bases we have all over the world. Funny how people don't like to be imposed upon... :gm:

[attila_the_hunny]

oh hai ur back.

[kendoiwan]

Hey babes. I've been lurking around for a little bit, stalking Delilah and such... :ph34r:

[Anonymous]

Just an example of why people who don't live here would have a less than favorable opinion of us as a nation.

People still need examples?

[bclark619g]

Strategically, the U.S. still needs the base there. We have shipping to protect as well as treaty obligations to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. People need to consider the value of being able to have military assets already staged near possible trouble spots. Navy ships travel about 30 nautical miles per hour and use lots of fuel and supplies. The world will love us plenty when the next world war breaks out. We are about due for one.

[avolkiteshvara]

The Japanese don't like the Okinawans either.

I doubt they'd want us to leave though. The don't have much of a military to protect their national interests.

[vSv]

Strategically, the U.S. still needs the base there. We have shipping to protect as well as treaty obligations to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. People need to consider the value of being able to have military assets already staged near possible trouble spots. Navy ships travel about 30 nautical miles per hour and use lots of fuel and supplies. The world will love us plenty when the next world war breaks out. We are about due for one.

No.

[Kuro]

No.

What he said.

[OrionzRevenge]

Strategically, the U.S. still needs the base there. We have shipping to protect as well as treaty obligations to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. People need to consider the value of being able to have military assets already staged near possible trouble spots. Navy ships travel about 30 nautical miles per hour and use lots of fuel and supplies. The world will love us plenty when the next world war breaks out. We are about due for one.


The Japanese don't like the Okinawans either.

I doubt they'd want us to leave though. The don't have much of a military to protect their national interests.
Good Points.

... Funny how people don't like to be imposed upon... :gm:
Yeppers.
http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww2/bfa/images/map01.gif
Like all these places in pink and red not Japan that the allies had to spill guts by the bucketful in an effort to reach Okinawa.
Why? So we could rap on the palace door with a big stick and say...
"These people don't like to be imposed upon! ok?"

[Neville]

No.


What he said.

The world needs neutral bitches too; someone has to play for both teams.

[kendoiwan]

Strategically, the U.S. still needs the base there. We have shipping to protect as well as treaty obligations to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. People need to consider the value of being able to have military assets already staged near possible trouble spots. Navy ships travel about 30 nautical miles per hour and use lots of fuel and supplies. The world will love us plenty when the next world war breaks out. We are about due for one.

"We said so."


Good Points.

Yeppers.
http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww2/bfa/images/map01.gif
Like all these places in pink and red not Japan that the allies had to spill guts by the bucketful in an effort to reach Okinawa.
Why? So we could rap on the palace door with a big stick and say...
"These people don't like to be imposed upon! ok?"

So your argument is essentially, we have the right to impose because we stopped you from imposing 60 some odd years ago. Sweet.

[kendoiwan]

The Japanese don't like the Okinawans either.

I doubt they'd want us to leave though. The don't have much of a military to protect their national interests.

We conveniently won't allow them to have a military, funny how that kind of thing works.

[bclark619g]

So, OP, what do you think will happen if the US were to close all the bases outside of U.S. territory?

Do you remember the USS Cole bombing? That happened because the US thought we'd be nice and just pull into any old port and try to refuel a ship. If we had a base in the Middle East, the USS Cole may not have been bombed.

The US constitution doesn't say "make sure all the other countries love us."

[starla]

We conveniently won't allow them to have a military, funny how that kind of thing works.

China and Korea are probably very thankful for that.

[Zephyrus055]

Let them hate us as long as they fear us.

[Neville]

Let them hate us as long as they fear us.

:highfive:

[kendoiwan]

So, OP, what do you think will happen if the US were to close all the bases outside of U.S. territory?

Do you remember the USS Cole bombing? That happened because the US thought we'd be nice and just pull into any old port and try to refuel a ship. If we had a base in the Middle East, the USS Cole may not have been bombed.

The US constitution doesn't say "make sure all the other countries love us."

Pardon me, I clearly must've missed the "maintain our imperialistic empire at all cost" clause in The Constitution. :stupid:

China and Korea are probably very thankful for that.

Gotta keep the people with the purse strings happy! :gm:

Let them hate us as long as they fear us.

And then when some attack or another happens it's all "Why do they hate us?! They hate our freedoms that's what! Lets bomb someone and teach them a lesson!!!" :facepalm:

[bclark619g]

Pardon me, I clearly must've missed the "maintain our imperialistic empire at all cost" clause in The Constitution. :stupid:


Look, you are making giant fucking leaps here. At the end of WWII, the US could have taken over large parts of Europe as well as most of the island nations in the Pacific. We didn't do it. So your imperialistic bullshit is false. We don't even resemble the former British Empire.

[lowtech redneck]

Pardon me, I clearly must've missed the "maintain our imperialistic empire at all cost" clause in The Constitution. :stupid:


Funny how all those countries in Eastern and Southeastern Asia prefer our "imperialistic empire" over that of either Japan in the past or China today (and the Japanese preferred us to the Soviets after the war, not they were in a moral position to protest our presence in any event). Our alliances with these nations are based on mutual benefit, not one-sided imposition. The new party in power in Japan is largely comprised of opportunistic ex-members of the older Socialist Party, which made the mistake of supporting North Korea while it was discovered that the latter had kidnapped Japanese citizens, and were currently threatening Japan with missiles. The anti-American elements of the new ruling party's platform are largely designed to appease a strategic voting bloc (as well as the naivety of several party members within a factionalized coalition), its not particularly indicative of overall Japanese opinion.

As for a Japanese military, I don't think we would stand in the way of that, anymore; its the Japanese themselves who don't want it.

[kendoiwan]

Look, you are making giant fucking leaps here. At the end of WWII, the US could have taken over large parts of Europe as well as most of the island nations in the Pacific. We didn't do it. So your imperialistic bullshit is false. We don't even resemble the former British Empire.

When in doubt curse em out! :gm:

[kendoiwan]

Funny how all those countries in Eastern and Southeastern Asia prefer our "imperialistic empire" over that of either Japan in the past or China today (and the Japanese preferred us to the Soviets after the war, not they were in a moral position to protest our presence in any event). Our alliances with these nations are based on mutual benefit, not one-sided imposition. The new party in power in Japan is largely comprised of opportunistic ex-members of the older Socialist Party, which made the mistake of supporting North Korea while it was discovered that the latter had kidnapped Japanese citizens, and were currently threatening Japan with missiles. The anti-American elements of the new ruling party's platform are largely designed to appease a strategic voting bloc (as well as the naivety of several party members within a factionalized coalition), its not particularly indicative of overall Japanese opinion.

As for a Japanese military, I don't think we would stand in the way of that, anymore; its the Japanese themselves who don't want it.

What opinion polls are you citing here? Glad to know you're authority enough on Japanese politics to call a huge swath of it's voters naive. Any more insights you'd care to share?

[Madrigal]

Just an example of why people who don't live here would have a less than favorable opinion of us as a nation. The fine folks in Japan don't want the base there. And yet it is still there because we say so. Kind of like other bases we have all over the world. Funny how people don't like to be imposed upon... :gm:

I heard some bases in Saudi Arabia kinda pissed someone off.

[kendoiwan]

I heard some bases in Saudi Arabia kinda pissed someone off.

You don't say? :smooch:

http://behindblondiepark.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/bin-laden.jpg

[Zephyrus055]

And then when some attack or another happens it's all "Why do they hate us?! They hate our freedoms that's what! Lets bomb someone and teach them a lesson!!!" :facepalm:

It's of course bull shit, but the elites will manufacture some moral reason, added with half truths or outright lies, to get popular consent. It's politics as usual. Oh, and politics is never about morality, it's all ways about power.

[Ferrus]

Funny how all those countries in Eastern and Southeastern Asia prefer our "imperialistic empire"
Although, strangely enough many African countries are increasingly seeing China as the lesser of two evils to deal with, as they don't have this pesky moralising side to them.

[kendoiwan]

Although, strangely enough many African countries are increasingly seeing China as the lesser of two evils to deal with, as they don't have this pesky moralising side to them.

My name is Kendo and I approve this message.

[nonperson]

Although, strangely enough many African countries are increasingly seeing China as the lesser of two evils to deal with, as they don't have this pesky moralising side to them.

My name is nonperson and I interpret this as many African nations have the same abysmal human rights record as China.

[Stryfe]

Look, you are making giant fucking leaps here. At the end of WWII, the US could have taken over large parts of Europe as well as most of the island nations in the Pacific. We didn't do it. So your imperialistic bullshit is false. We don't even resemble the former British Empire.You're right, those guys had funny hats!

[kendoiwan]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/world/asia/02japan.html?th&emc=th


Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama of Japan, who swept into power last year with bold promises to revamp the country, then faltered over broken campaign pledges to remove an American base from Okinawa, announced Wednesday that he would step down.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama of Japan bowed before his party’s lawmakers at the national Diet in Toyko on Wednesday.

Mr. Hatoyama faced growing pressure to quit, eight months after taking office, amid criticism that he had squandered an electoral mandate to change Japan’s sclerotic postwar political order.

Since taking office in September, he had come to be seen as an indecisive leader. This image was reinforced by his wavering and eventual backtracking on the base issue, which set off huge demonstrations on Okinawa and drove his approval ratings below 25 percent.

So much for the "fringe issue" theory...

[Architectonic]

I heard about the broken promise the other day, the (lame) excuse was the recent tensions in Korea.

Fucking politicians......

[nonperson]

I am waiting for the Japanese to leave Okinawa. :yes:

[Helios]

I am waiting for the Japanese to leave Okinawa. :yes:



so funny!


I have been living in Oki for about a month, it is such much more complex than what you'd gather from afar.


if only life really did fit into something you read on Wikipedia.

[nonperson]

so funny!


I have been living in Oki for about a month, it is such much more complex than what you'd gather from afar.


if only life really did fit into something you read on Wikipedia.

I did Japanese culture as a minor in my first year at uni'. And I did the American bases question on my exam, I got a high 2.1 mainly becuase I should have answered 3 questions and I only did 2.

[starjots]

so funny!


I have been living in Oki for about a month, it is such much more complex than what you'd gather from afar.


if only life really did fit into something you read on Wikipedia.

Well fess up, what is your data point?

[stopharian]

Well fess up, what is your data point?

Wax on Wax off...dude knows some sick Karate now!!!

[nonperson]

Wax on Wax off...dude knows some sick Karate now!!!

Karate is nothing. It is the aikido dudes that worry me.

[Qlippoth]

Karate is nothing. It is the aikido dudes that worry me.

Winning against an Aikido guy is easy, you just have to make sure not to attack him, then he's absolutely helpless.