Why is the United States government allowing this to happen?
After 63 years the Japanese have finally defeated the US Marine Corps. They are throwing the Marines out of Okinawa, the southern most island in the Japan. Also, the site of the largest sea invasion of World War 2, even bigger then D Day. A stupid Marine raped a Japanese girl so now the entire Corps has to suffer. The Marines are being transferred to Guam. Have we slipped so far in world affairs that a country without an army and that we destroyed in a war, can order us out?
2008-02-24T22:49:40Z
Related link: http://naha.usconsulate.gov/wwwh-20060508.html
2008-02-25T12:07:38Z
Number one I am not a liberal. Number two I was stationed at Kadena AB in the 1980's. Their economy depended on our dollars. I was the airfield manager. Once a year I was required to let the Okinawan's view there land that we leased from them, this included parts of the runway. Japan had always used Okinawa as a slave island. The Okinawan's were never considered full Japaneses. There have be protects around the various bases there for almost 30 years. Kadena and 4000 Marines will stay. Guam is a lot farther then Kadena for the action. If anything they should have moved to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Anonymous2008-02-24T12:37:21Z
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The Japanese are not the same people as they were in WWII. Just like you and I are not our grandparents (or Great-grandparents). Why is it okay for the U.S. to have bases everywhere when we do not extend the same courtesy to anyone else?
Because at the close of WW 2, it was agreed that the US would administer the islands until a later date (unknown) when the Ryukyus would be be reverted to Japan.
I spent a year on Okinawa in 1964 as a Navy Corpsman with the Marines and I can tell you that although they were a very kind, pleasant people, their allegiance was to Japan since basically having been born and raised in that area which was part of Japan. A few years later, they actually were reverted to Japan and we were allowed to continue with our military bases there. The reversion never seemed to have made much difference.
I haven't heard anything about our military forces being asked to leave. But if they have, then so be it.
The decision to move 8,000 Marines to Guam was made long before the Staff Sergeant based at Camp Courtney was arrested for an alleged rape of that 14-year old girl. Okinawa reverted back to control by Japan because that is what was promised in the Peace Treaty signed in San Francisco in 1951, where the U.S. recognized Japan's residual sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands. The invasion of Okinawa (Operation Iceberg), which began on the first of April 1945 did not involve more ships and personnel than the invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord) on the 6th of June 1944. But, we did lose more ships and Navy personnel in Operation Iceberg than in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The immediacy of politics demand we blow individual events out of proportion, and that one person's tragedy (or one person's stupidity) can dictate the future of a much larger group.
While I do not wish to under-value this girl's suffering, neither can I allow the Marines to be demonized by a single event. This is a case of the Japanese seizing on a politically convenient moment to force a move that has been in the making for some time. Why does the US allow this to happen? Because the alternatives are not reasonable, and because we value, as said in above answers, a Japanese-American friendship in the face of Chinese expansion more than we value a single base on Okinawa.
Guam is a better base for force projection given its' location relative to the rest of the Pacific rim. The Japanese are footing a large portion of the bill to move 8,000 Marines to Guam. That doesn't mean we will no longer have troops in Japan. 1/1 SFG will still be on Okinawa and we have other multi-service troops stationed elsewhere.