Sunday, February 27, 2005

Japan

Fire of Liberty

Thomas Donnelly has a good article in The Weekly Standard which points out the fact that Japan is a becoming a greater ally to the US rather than Europe. While the Europeans are trying their best to become an equal to the US through a common security policy in the EU the Japanese are trying their best to stay in the US column. First, the Japanese are on the same page as the US when it comes to strategic goals like securing the Far-East from an aggressive China and promoting democracy in The Middle East. Secondly, the Japanese offer essential airfields, logistics as well as a military which is compatible to US forces and technology. Donnelly also notes that the greatest aspect of this strong relationship is that it provides a great lesson to the World. The lesson is basically:
In simplest terms, that reasoning is as follows: The spread of free and representative governments occasioned by the Pax Americana is not only morally good, but tends toward peace and prosperity; China and radical Islamists, by their own assertions, take issue with the current international order; and the use of military force is occasionally and lamentably necessary to preserve and protect that order. Ergo, a military alliance with the United States makes sense.

I guess the Europeans could learn a thing our two from the Japanese. It's amazing that the EU is a large superstate and still can't muster the power that the island nation Japan holds. When you fail to see the forest for the trees things like this tend to happen.

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