Japanese Want U.S. Bases Out of Okinawa!

A friend was in Okinawa recently still picketing. I would say the people do not want us there. On average once a month an American service woman there is drugged kidnapped and gang raped. They are then quietly given disability pay for service connected PTSD MST. I recently read 21% of overseas female troops return with PTSD and 80 -90% are from MST (military sexual trauma). Add on the stories of young Okinawan girls getting the same treatment, rarely makes the news here. While I was there they found,when a surprise inspection was done, an 11 yr old girl kept in a foot locker as a sex slave. There is an overwhelming majority of very young males an very few females and to see military 19 staggering home drunk is normal. We gave one a ride, he could barely walk and it turned out he was from my state and had called me previous to going to Okinawa, small world. I am sure he had no idea how he got home the next day.

One of my sons friends was stabbed on the DMZ in Korea by a S Korean they were rioting, they don't want us there. The people in many countries don't want us there. The TPTB make big bucks on us, they want us there.

http://thevoiceofmoderation.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/26-thin...

A great new article on Ron Paul and conservatives in general

I have lived in Japan for about 20 years and from my understanding the Japanese people do NOT want U.S. bases out of Japan, local land developers in Okinawa are the ones that want U.S. bases out of Japan. The ones lobbying for it are being financed by these local moguls who moved in buying up land after the region started to become popular due to U.S. development and now want to build golf courses and resorts on the land reserved by U.S. bases.

Okinawa only became a part of Japan after the second world war, previous to that they were the Ryukyu Islands, a sovereign nation and the natives themselves basically want their sovereignty back. The Ryukyuans themselves for the most part want the Japanese out of Okinawa (and any other foreign control) and could care less about regional stability.

So the title of this thread should perhaps more correctly be "Local Land Developers Want U.S. Bases Out of Okinawa!" and they have the money and power to pay politicians to lobby on their behalf.

it's in the fact that we've had excellent economic relations and freedom with Japan, willing disaster relief, and the influence that both we have had on them, and they have had on us. Japan has become like another America in the sense that they have similar political struggles and they come from a stunningly similar past to our own, with all the regional warfare they had, and opposition to centralized government. It didn't turn out the way our country has, but we share... an experience and perspective of the power of government. And the fact that they would prefer us to not even have a presence in Japan, speaks volumes about their desire to have control of their own country again in many ways.

The people of Okinawa have been protesting for years about getting all of the US military out of the island.

Their elected representatives have been negotating this with the US but have actually been trying to keep the US pressence for all the revenue/taxes. Last year, this very large disconnect between the peoples desirse and their politicans actions led to massive protests in Okinawa.

All the same time the US has been suggested moving these bases to our Pacific Island Terrirotries... mainly a large buildup in Guam. That keeps going back-and-forth with teh decision to leave okinawa or not.

Long story short, the people don't want us there, we don't need to be there... its time to go home.

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with a history. Call Okinawa the rural Mississippi of Japan or . . . the northern New Mexico (not Santa Fe, perhaps Taos before it became artsy) of Japan, and those who don't understand Japan might begin to understand.

It's been 'easier' to allow the bases there, but the American military has (not all, but too many) NOT behaved well there.

I do NOT blame the Japanese, and I blame the Okinawans even less; they've been exploited and marginalized long enough--

If someone built a military base in MY backyard I would drop an atom b**b on em'.

people are not mentioning how RP accused the NeoCons of isolationist policies with I believe blocades & such. I thought it was brilliant.

I know its tough trying to sell Ron Pauls foreign policy to the GOP but I think I may have found a good way to get them to go along with us. If you ask the question "have you ever heard a liberal say look at europe and how great their socialism is?" Of course they have, then just point out that the reason they have so much money to spend on socialism is because we subsidize most of their defense. We have bases all over Europe. Then send them articles like the one below about it.

http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/12/u-s-defense-spending-subsi...

Make them pay for it themselves. Lets stop subsidizing Europes socialism. Thats a good talking point to use on any conservative GOPer.

They've ALWAYS wanted the U.S. out. As do the locals living around our bases in most host countries.

Ron Paul will get us out and that's great, but why is this article stuck at the top of the main page?

Yeah well we gotta keep a base in Japan to protect them from... the Japanese?

I was stationed in Okinawa from 1969-1970. We had a few instances of japanese college students protesting the bases. Many civilians work at the bases. The island is small widest part is 1 mile across. The bars and motels like the military there and the economy is helped but there are several bases on that small island. there is Kadena Air Force Base and a Marine base and an army base at Machinato and more army in Naha. I got a dose of Agent Orange in Okinawa but the Army does not admit it at this time. They have buried hundreds of 55 gallon drums at Machinato but have not owned up to it yet. No Wonder the Japanese want the military gone. When I was there the economy was similar to ours in value but when I stopped in Tokyo the prices were 5 times higher for everything. If the military left I am afraid Inflation would hit them hard.