America always envied Great Britain for having acquired territory in China. Britain took Hong Kong as a settlement for winning the Opium Wars. It was a wrongful war, in which Britain also used Opium as a form of currency. Since those treaties with China and Britain, America has always sought an Asian footing.
Defeating Japan in WWII was the real beginning to American Nationalism, from an American point of view. Harry Truman's use of the Atomic Bomb on nonmilitary targets killing innocent Japanese civilians, established America's claim in Asia, forging Japans future. The death of civilians, forced the populace to accept American determinism, known also as imperialism. Afterward, Japan's military surrendered the 2nd time. The first time was several weeks before the bomb was used, but America ignored Japan's initial attempt.
Japan has no vast resources that America needs, such as oil, or coal, or rare metals. But in those times, as they still wrongfully think today, Japan became a strategic place for American positioning. That positioning is for the U.S military. What a pitiful result from being the nation of Japan to becoming a military launching site for the United States military. Things changed politically for Japan when Russia announced it had the bomb. America's decision was to remain in Japan.
Now when we compare Iraq with its vast oil resources, and its strategic importance in the oil rich gulf, with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Israel...it sends a clear signal to the nations in the world that America will never leave Iraq.
With Iran now claiming its nuclear membership, it's in similar stark comparison with Russia, when it announced it had the bomb. If America will not leave Japan, and it had no Oil resources, how are we to believe America will pull out of Iraq? It will not happen, unless the people demand it. Later in time China acquired the Atomic Bomb, thereby cementing America to the Japanese pavement.
In examining the reason why Truman ended support to the Kuomintang Nationalist Taiwan party in favor of Chairman Mao's Communist Party in forming a government, we see it had to do with Japan. Truman thought the Chinese Communist, were compatriots with the Russians. He wanted to breakup that relationship by showing Chairman Mao how American Policy was winning the war, to promote stability.
Doing this, Truman gambled that China would end its support to Russia, and forge ahead new Sino-American Japanese Chinese relations. By remaining in Japan Truman hoped for economic development between China and America's Japan. But it was not to happen.
Truman's gamble has not paid off. In fact Chairman Mao was very thankful to Truman in stopping the support to the Kuomintang forces in Taiwan, yet he also remained loyal to Russia, because he wanted the bomb for China.
When China became the new member to the nuclear club, it further confirmed the necessity in America in not giving Japan its sovereignty. Sadly, China has always been happy that America dropped the bomb on Japanese civilians. It was their moment in an odd way, of getting justice.
Remember, Japan committed terrible atrocities by slaughtering 300,000 Chinese people in Nanjing. It has been my belief Japan did this to end Britain and American control over the Chinese government, with their Opium markets. Indeed Japans action did end this, and stopped opium, when Chairman Mao rose to power by forcing all foreigners out of China.
Japan's pre-emptive attack on Pearl Harbor was their reason in stopping a pre-imminent threat. They saw American war ships growing in Hawaii, so they did what Bush did to Iraq. They attacked, to prevent an attack on their country.
China's happiness in the dropping of the Atomic Bomb on Japan by the United States was challenged when the Vietnam Conflict started. China was supporting N. Vietnam, and the shift from American support to the Kuomintang in Taiwan so to speak, was realized with American new support in Saigon and S. Vietnam. Millions were killed, 58,000 US troops died, and America ended up pulling out of that senseless campaign. The Johnson administration refused to label it as a War.
It created a philosophy that America's military can be stopped. Although the cost was high, the psychology that winning conflicts by war became not an option. Many Republicans today in America want to reestablish that war is a good thing, in order to resurrect their creditability. That creditability they acclaim was by helping to win the campaign across Europe in stopping Hitler.
In all respect, this War on Iraq has been a response to the humiliating withdrawal from Saigon in the 70's. They look at it as humiliating. But in reality it is humility, and humbleness. If any nation had a gripe with America it was not Iraq, but Japan and Vietnam. After all, Vietnam and Cambodian families suffered the loss of 7 million people. More than the loss of life from the atomic bomb blasts in Nagasaki, and Hiroshima. And more than the loss of life the Jews suffered from the holocaust.
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