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. Box 29344
San Francisco, CA 94129 USA
Tel: 1-415-561-6472
Fax: 1-415-561-6493
Email: cwj@corpwatch.org
URL:  http://www.corpwatch-jp.org
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