The Obama administration’s “Pacific Pivot” is wreaking environmental havoc on the pristine ecosystems of the Asia-Pacific region.
A Green Challenge to the Asia-Pacific Pivot
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Okinawa
The Sun Also Rises: Resisting Militarism in Japan
It’s a critical time to support Japanese efforts to oppose Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s nationalist refashioning of his country.
Open Fire and Open Markets: The Asia-Pacific Pivot and Trans-Pacific Partnership
Thomas Friedman once said the hidden hand of the market needs the hidden fist of the military. The TPP and the Obama administration’s Pacific Pivot pack both.
Preventing the Next Battle of Okinawa
During the Battle of Okinawa, thousands of civilians were caught in the crossfire as U.S. and Japanese troops waged one of the final—and bloodiest—fights of World War II. The combat lasted for more than three months, devastated the south and center of the island, and...
Military Sexual Violence: From Frontline to Fenceline
As more U.S. military women break the silence about sexual violence committed by their comrades in arms, it is clear that sporadic “scandals” are not isolated incidents, but spring from the mycelium of U.S. military culture and ideology.
Postcard from Tokyo
Against a drumbeat of resurgent Japanese militarism, more than 140 Okinawan civic representatives made a historic trip to Tokyo on January 27. This was the first time since Okinawa reverted to Japanese control in 1972 that leaders from every municipality have visited the nation’s capital. And despite the bitter cold, they were met with a warm reception by 4,000 Tokyoites at a rally in Hibiya Park—before coming under assault by angry nationalists .
Osprey Outrage on Okinawa
Peace and tranquillity never really seem to last long in Okinawa. Looking over the dark blue Pacific on a cloudy morning, an Okinawan fisherman will hear a steady drone emanating from a U.S. Air Force C-130 transport aircraft. As it thunders low over the island’s small houses, the deafening roar from four Rolls-Royce engines drowns out school teachers and rattles window panes. The behemoth descends to land at Kadena Airbase and calm is temporarily restored.
Agent Orange on Okinawa: The Smoking Gun
Since 1945, the small Japanese island of Okinawa has been unwilling host to a massive U.S. military presence and a storehouse for a witches’ brew of dangerous munitions and chemicals, including nerve gas, mustard gas, and nuclear missiles. However, there is one weapon the Pentagon has always denied that it kept on Okinawa: Agent Orange. But a recently discovered U.S. army report puts lie to those denials once and for all.
Reinforcing Washington’s Asia-Pacific Hegemony
A year ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signaled a major transformation in U.S. foreign policy in an article titled “America’s Pacific Century,” which announced the U.S. “pivot” toward Asia, the Pacific, and the strategically important Indian Ocean. The expansion comes at a price for the region’s people.
Okinawa: Small Step Forward?
It’s a deal that’s been more than 15 years in the making and the unmaking. The United States and Japan have been struggling since the 1990s to transform the U.S. military presence on the island of Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. In preparation for this week’s visit of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to Washington, the two sides rolled out the latest attempt to resolve what has grown into a major sticking point in alliance relations.