Leave Japan to Its Own Defenses

Why does the U.S. still have 50,000 troops in Japan more than almost 65 years after the end of World War II? And what are they doing there when the Japanese public in Okinawa doesn't even want them there?

The U.S. has a deeply-rooted superiority complex or, dare I say, an imperialist complex that no longer makes sense at this time in history. It was logical after WWII that the U.S. would maintain a presence in Japan to ensure that our former enemy did not re-arm itself and as a buffer to the Soviet Union. But that time has past. Japan is a steadfast ally of the U.S., it has the world's second largest economy and the U.S.S.R is a relic of its former self. Yet, the U.S. persists in the notion that we are the policemen of the world. We can no longer afford this indulgence

If Japan is able to provide for its own defense, then it should do so. If not, it should bear all of the costs of the U.S. presence there if it wants us to remain. The U.S. has borne the brunt of the defense costs of the Westernized world since the Great War. We have spent trillions more in gross dollars and also as a percentage of our GDP than any of our Western allies. This kind of thinking and pattern of behavior must stop if for no other reason than we cannot afford it when our allies are not even paying anywhere near their fair share.

Europe, consistent with all of its socialist tendencies, has become too dependent on the U.S. to act as its de facto "war" army and has not shouldered, economically or in manpower or other resources, its burden of the responsibility for its own defense. We must reverse this course not only for our own legitimate fiscal and political reasons but also to encourage our European and Asian allies to start standing on their own feet to a much greater extent militarily.