The Empire 491

Defense Secretary Gates Is Not a Diplomat

Wednesday 28 October 2009

by: Melvin A. Goodman, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

Defense Secretary Robert Gates. (Photo Illustration: Troy Page; Adapted From: The National Guard and UNC-CFC-USFK / flickr)

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates has played the "ugly American" in Tokyo, cast in a role he should not be given. This performance speaks to the need for a demilitarized national security policy. It is the role of the secretary of state to conduct delicate overseas missions. Japan is experiencing extreme economic pressures, and the new Japanese government is preparing to withdraw from its commitment to refuel Western warships in the Indian Ocean and to become less active in positioning military forces against China. While in Japan, Gates demonstrated his anger and impatience with the Japanese, declining invitations to dine with Japanese Defense Ministry officials and to attend a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry.

Gates's petty behavior highlights three issues facing the Obama administration. First, the new Japanese government of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which ended the fifty-year run of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), will be more protective of Japanese interests. Second, for the past two decades, the US Defense Department has been taking over key functions in bilateral relations and foreign economic and military assistance, traditionally managed by the State Department. Third, the Obama administration erred in retaining a cold warrior like Gates as secretary of defense in the wake of a political campaign that was devoted to genuine change in US foreign policy.

The United States must understand that its military and economic weakness, brought about by poor decisions regarding use of force in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, has opened the door for our traditional allies in Asia and Europe to assert their will in foreign policy matters. Japan will no longer automatically perform as America's "aircraft carrier" in the Pacific. The United States currently occupies 134 military bases and facilities on land in Japan that is greater in size than Tokyo, representing an "occupation" footprint. The DPJ won a landslide victory in August, pledging that it would not automatically conform to US wishes and that it would seek savings in defense policy. The United States, now the greatest debtor nation in world history, will have to adapt to a global currency system less centered on the dollar and countries such as China and Japan will be more assertive in their dealings with the United States. Huge US deficits could lead the Chinese and the Japanese to be less willing to hold US dollars and to finance US military adventures abroad. The Obama administration will have to pursue a diplomatic strategy that does notrely on personal pique.

Lees verder: http://www.truthout.org/1028091