Wednesday February 15, 2012

Howardtheduck's past comments

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    Howardtheduck

    I think we (the US) needs some bases in Japan, but at a reduced level, and in different areas. Okinawa, while strategic, is a Cold War relic. China is growing stronger by the day, and if the US military is stretched fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, than it certainly is not prepared for China re-taking Taiwan by force (one of the reasons often cited for keeping a base in Okinawa was to protect Taiwan). The Soviet Union is dead and gone, and really, the only country in the area that would start a war (where the US could beat it) is North Korea. I think the US should withdraw a lot of the personnel to Guam, and make a new base in the Tohoku region of Honshu, say in Akita ken. Heck, the towns up there are dying out, so a military base could be economically beneficial to the area.

    Before people shout off about Okinawa's strategic importance, remember, on paper, China's got the US by the b@#$s. The economic ties are too important now with China to risk a war. Like it or not, China is in the driver's seat for unification with Taiwan. It's a matter of time before China gets the political or military clout to unify the island with the mainland.

    In Tohoku, however, there is more space for a base (Okinawa is cramped), it is closer to the Dear Leader's Socialist Paradise (obvious sarcasm), and, if the need arose, Russia. The US would still be maintaining it's security pacts with Japan and South Korea, and we could finally be rid of the festering, money-bleeding problem that is Okinawa.

    Posted in: Does the U.S. need to have military bases anywhere in Japan?

  • 0

    Howardtheduck

    Yeah, it sucks, but this is actually one thing the Americans didn't start. The Aussies have been using the same system for quite some time (and $25 a pop, too). Eventually, we'll all have to give credit reports, DNA samples, etc. just to visit another country.

    Posted in: New U.S. online travel security screening measure goes online Aug 1

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