It looks as though another ally is now done with Bush!
Japan, arguably the most devoted of all of America's allies, is installing a new government, democratically-elected, and much more progressive than Japan has seen in some time.
Those moving into power in Japan are not fans of George W Bush's personal acquisition of Iraq, and it is quite possible that the new Japanese government will pull its support, including its troops, out of this quagmire.
Thank God!
Cheney, Rove and Bush's other bullies will, of course, threaten Japan with non-governmental sanctions, like corporate boycotts; and possibly threaten them with trade sanctions. That's how the Bushies operate: not above-board and following a correct moral compass, but as bullies who will bend any law or moral code for personal gain.
After the Democratic Party's July 29th victory over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), they declared their opposition to extending the military's operation supporting coalition forces in Afghanistan.
That mission, which was approved under a special law circumventing Japan's pacifist Constitution, expires in November. The old-guard LDP wants to extend the law for another year; but the now-ruling Democratic party is having no part of it.
The new ruling party also wants to pull-out of the agreement that has Japan providing air-support operations between Kuwait and Iraq.
"Our diplomacy should not be subservient to the U.S.," Democratic Party (of Japan) Secretary-General Yukio Hatoyama said Friday. "We should express Japan's position more assertively through our diplomatic and defense policies."
Japan is watching what we are watching: terrorist acts against nations participating in Bush's immoral war against Iraq. What is currently happening to Korean citizens in Afghanistan is going to happen to the citizens of other nations supporting Bush.
Most of the world, including our staunchest allies, are opposed to this War; but, Bush has himself so far in that he can't get out; and the Democrats have no interest in defying him because they know the media will make any opponent of the war unelectable. Remember, the media is making a lot of money on this war and they don't care if their reporters are dying in vein, they have toilet paper and processed food advertisements to sell!
I am relieved that the newly-elected government in Japan is not pulling a Tony Blair and bending over for a high-pay screwing from our President (doesn't Tony Blair look adorable as George Bush's bitch?). Of course, current Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will likely take a plum position on the board of Prescott Company, or Halliburton, or one of the myriad military contracting companies the president and his friends control, and Abe might even get a job for the US government as a lackey/envoy to Asia; but, the new Japanese government is not giving Bush the carte blanche he so desperately needs to keep up his charade.
Thanks God the Japanese citizenry knows how, unlike the US citizenry, to use its votes and its power to remove from office a party that is supporting the War in Iraq.
We in the United States could learn a lesson here: if you are opposed to the war, stop electing Republicans and Neo-con Democrats.
Some information gathered online from AP report: Abe defeat could impact support for U.S.
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2 comments:
Perhaps the Japanese remember what it is like to lose a war. We seem to have forgotten what it is like to lose a war - we re-wrote that book - thank you, Hollywood.
Adam
Dickmac, a few errors, if I may...
Japan went to the polls on 29th July to elect representatives to the House of Councillors, they were not "installing a new government".
It is not "quite possible that the new Japanese government will pull its support, including its troops, out of this quagmire", because there is no new Japanese government.
These remarks are even more baffling in light of the IHT report that you link to. The report says very clearly that:
"Ground troops no longer remain, but Japan's air force continues to transport coalition personnel and supplies from Kuwait to Iraq, while Japanese ships in the Indian Ocean provide logistical support for U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan."
I'm not sure how Japan can "pull its support, including its troops" when according to the article you used for information, "ground troops no longer remain".
The best that the DPJ can do is block an extension to Japanese naval operations offering logistical support in the Indian Ocean. Prime Minister Shizo Abe still has a large majority in the more powerful House of Representatives. All this information is in the report you link to and yet your precis of that very report is highly unreliable.
Not everybody (and certainly not Japanese voters who went to the polls disenchanted by high-profile domestic scandals and maladministration in the proper working of state pensions) sees all political life through the prism of Iraq and President Bush.
I fear that your comment on Tony Blair looking "adorable as George Bush's bitch" reflects wider failings. This is personal invective, not political analysis.
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