Subject: [cwj 70] Okinawa Summit Creates Opportunity for Rethinking U.S. Policies in Asia- Foreign Policy In Focus
From: Corporate Watch in Japanese <cwj@corpwatch.org>
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 17:44:13 -0700
Seq: 70
Okinawa Summit Creates Opportunity for Rethinking U.S. Policies in Asia Three new releases from Foreign Policy In Focus With the Cold War over and peace negotiations (as well as rumblings of unification) happening in Korea, the U.S. should rethink it's policies in East Asia. According to two recent Foreign Policy in Focus briefing papers, scaling down U.S. military presence in Okinawa would be an excellent place to start. Also, FPIF Codirector, Tom Barry, contributes original analysis on the G8's future role in global governance. *********************************************************** Okinawa and the U.S. Military in Northeast Asia By Tim Shorrock http://www.foreignpolicyinfocus.org/briefs/vol5/v5n22okinawa.htm The military logic of keeping tens of thousands of U.S. Marines, Army, Air Force, and Navy personnel on mainland Japan and South Korea is quickly disappearing. Even if there were a missile threat in this region, the Third Marine Division in Okinawa would be helpless to prevent it. In addition to the marines' cloudy mission in the region, a string of sexual violence against civilian women, some as young as 12 years old, has caused public outrage and will be cause for some of the international protests being staged during the summit which begins July 21st. It is clear from recent events in Asia that U.S. military strategy further destabilizes as it seeks to shape the world in its interests, suppressing expressions of instability by employing nuclear deterrence, selective armed intervention, economic sanctions, and diplomatic pressures. ********************************************************** Women and the U.S. Military in East Asia By Gwyn Kirk, Rachel Cornwell, Margo Okazawa-Rey http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/briefs/vol4/v4n09wom.html Despite reconciliation talks between North and South Korea, the U.S. has declared that it will maintain 100,000 troops in East Asia for the next 20 years even if the Koreas are reunited. Joint Vision 2020, a Pentagon planning document, concluded that Asia will replace Europe as the key focus of U.S. military strategy in the early 21st century and pointed to China as a potential adversary. Instead of seeing U.S. troops sent home and military bases closed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, East Asians have seen signs that the U.S. military is digging in deeper and that the cold war in the region continues, despite the lack of credible threats to the United States. The popular resentment--and especially the anger of many Asian women--at the U.S. military presence in East Asia was highlighted in a series of meetings and protests that occurred around the G8 Summit in Okinawa. Contributing to the focus of the U.S. military's impact on women was another incident in Okinawa of sexual harassment a couple of weeks before the July 2000 Summit--this case involving a drunken Marine accused of molesting a 14-year-old schoolgirl while she slept in her home. ********************************************************** G8/G7 and Global Governance By Tom Barry http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/briefs/vol5/v5n23g8g7.html Due to its booming economy, its lead in information technology, and its lack of military competitors, the U.S. once again exercises hegemonic power in the capitalist world--which now encompasses virtually the entire planet. As such, the U.S. must assume a large part of the blame for the dismal state of global governance, and a large part of the responsibility to set international affairs on a more forward-looking path. A new approach to U.S. participation in the G8/G7 would be a good place to start. In its deliberative capacity, the G8/G7 could play a key role in highlighting the need for substantial reforms in the decisionmaking institutions of global governance and in forging an international consensus on the policies needed to address global climate change and other pressing transnational issues. For more information on Foreign Policy In Focus visit our website: http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/ ------------------- Interhemispheric Resource Center/Institute for Policy Studies Foreign Policy Program Box 4506 Albuquerque, NM 87196 505-842-8288 505-246-1601 (fax) ircalb@swcp.com 733 15th St. ste. 1020 Washington, DC 20005 202-234-9382, ext 240 ipsps@igc.org ------------------------------------- Corporate Watch in Japanese Transnational Resource and Action Center (TRAC) P.O. 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