To Mr. Obama: Laments of a Pro-American Conservative

Perhaps it is because I have been branded a “pro-American conservative” over the years, but I have become somewhat nervous over the Obama administration’s every move. The manner in which his leadership is waning internationally has been harshly described as the “U.S. absence” by The New York Times and as a “U.S. retreat” by The Wall Street Journal.

Loosening Alliances and Middle East Order with U.S. Absence

U.S. diplomacy has traditionally been deployed alongside military force, but there was uproar in the American media when the second-term Obama administration became fearful of military intervention, just by entering talks and negotiations with a country in conflict. Naturally, the traditional alliances and friendly alliances are showing their age. I sense that this may be beginning to occur in the Japan-U.S. alliance as well.

Its handling of Syria last summer exposed how strong the Obama administration’s desire is to not get involved in another country’s war. I can understand the passive approach, since it is more or less a trend of U.S. public opinion, but what has happened as a result of cancelling right at the moment of military intervention?

Russia robbed the U.S. of the leadership in finding a solution to the Syria issue. President Assad — whose resignation the U.S. and various European countries demanded — has resumed breathing. International terrorist group al-Qaida’s armed group is gaining strength on the anti-government rebel side. The situation has changed drastically.

The U.S. government has entered talks with Iran over the nuclear issue, but Saudi Arabia and Israel, regarded as old enemies of Iran, have turned a cold gaze to America. The U.S. military has completely withdrawn from Iraq, but having gained power in its place is an al-Qaida militant group, no less.

U.S. policy toward Egypt, a Middle Eastern ally, which has continual military support of about $1.3 billion a year, is beyond comprehension. No sooner than it turned its back on President Mubarak and supported the dissidents, the U.S. showed enthusiasm for the establishment of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political power. All that is left is for the U.S. to actually recognize the military coup. I can only think about how the screws that stabilize order in the Middle East have come loose.

No Show of Disappointment in the An Jung-Geun Memorial

Certainly, President Obama stated in his Jan. 28 State of the Union address that the U.S. will continue to focus on the Asia-Pacific and support its allies, but in order to not get involved in a war in Asia, it must not cause military friction with China.

Sen. Baucus, who was nominated as the next U.S. ambassador to China, also affirmed his certainty of the need to continue constructive dialogue with China at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing held on the same day as the nomination approval. The U.S. has virtually conformed to the “new type of great power relationship” that China’s President Xi Jinping has been proposing to President Obama for some time.

The U.S. government has stated that “Japan’s leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan’s neighbors” as a reason for the “disappointment” expressed about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the Yasukuni shrine. Viewing the world from Washington, America’s concerns are likely exactly that.

As far as the Yasukuni shrine issue is concerned, however, I think the Obama administration is making a mistake. Upon noting that Japanese people go into a panic at a mere reference to “Yasukuni,” China and Korea have made it a diplomatic tool. The Obama administration’s Asia officials are likely not unaware of this.

Supposing they are unaware, as our ally, might they at least have issued a statement of “disappointment” in China and South Korea for establishing a memorial to An Jong-Geun at Harbin station, the crime scene where he assassinated former Prime Minister and first Resident-General of Korea Ito Hirobumi?

The Choice Between a Strong Japan or a Weak Japan

Contrary to the “strong Japan” that Prime Minister Abe calls for, the Allied General Headquarters aimed for a “weak Japan.” Director of Civilian Affairs Whitney and Deputy Chief Kades are representative figures of the Japanese constitution. There is a consistently present tendency in the U.S. to want to confine Japan to an occupied state at every opportunity, without even verifying what Japan has been doing post-independence.

If I am to raise but one example, it would be The New York Times. The words “Yasukuni Shrine,” “Shintō,” and “emperor” in particular evoke an immediate and overblown response of “nationalism.” Why is this respectable newspaper, which has continued to maintain freedom of speech and press, stuck in a rut repeating stereotypical expressions? After the prime minister’s visit to the Yasukuni shrine, once again, the published editorial was “Risky Nationalism in Japan.” The U.S. is not worried about the nationalism of neighboring countries and implicitly believes that caution is needed only with Japan.

The Obama administration and this newspaper may have nothing to do with each other, but their statements of “disappointment” both have the same ring to them. Feeling uplifted in Japan are the conventionally anti-American people, while I, a pro-American, am secretly scowling.

In the turbulent international community, will the Obama administration support a “strong Japan,” or will it choose a “weak Japan?” I believe the intelligent American people, who have come to value the Japan-U.S. alliance, understand what I want to say.