Blair Vows to Stay Course in Iraq

By ED JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
Tue Sep 27,10:40 AM ET
link

BRIGHTON, England - Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that Britain would not retreat or withdraw from Iraq, saying that to do so would hand the country over to "the mercy of religious fanatics or relics" of Saddam Hussein.

Blair told the Labour Party's annual conference that "8 1/2 million Iraqis showed which future they wanted when they came out and voted in January's elections."

Disquiet about Britain's involvement in Iraq has grown since Sept. 19, when rioters in the southern city of Basra attacked British troops with Molotov cocktails when the soldiers tried to rescue two comrades who had been detained by Iraqi police.

"I know there are people, good people, who disagreed with the decision to remove Saddam by force," Blair said.

"Yes, several hundred people stoned British troops in Basra. Yes, several thousand run the terrorist insurgency around Baghdad. And yes, as a result of the fighting, innocent people tragically died," he added.

"The way to stop the innocent dying is not to retreat, to withdraw, to hand these people over to the mercy of religious fanatics or relics of Saddam, but to stand up for their right to decide their government in the same democratic way the British people do."

Blair also defended his partnership with President Bush, saying "Britain should remain the strongest ally of the United States."

"I never doubted after Sept. 11 that our place was alongside America and I don't doubt it now. And for a very simple reason," he said. "Terrorism struck most dramatically in New York but it was aimed then and is aimed now at us all, at our way of life."

He said terrorism "is at its fiercest in Iraq.

"It has allied itself there with every reactionary element in the Middle East. Their aim: to wreck this December's first ever direct election for the government of Iraq," he said.

US Equips Georgian Soldiers

Marines Issue Equipment to Georgian Battalion

(Source: US Marine Corps; issued Sept. 27, 2005)

KRTSANISI, Republic of Georgia --- Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program U.S. Task Force logistics Marines have been issuing the Republic of Georgia’s 22nd Light Infantry Battalion 275 types of equipment ranging from weapons, vehicles and uniforms to pencils, folding chairs and mess kits.

The ongoing gear issue at the Krtsanisi National Training Area, Republic of Georgia, which began Aug. 17, is almost complete, according to 1st Lt. Marcelino Hsie, the GSSOP logistics officer and native of Tucson, Ariz.

According to Hsie, the gear has been permanently issued as a donation to the 22nd Battalion under parameters the GSSOP mission, which is to assist and enhance Georgia’s military capability to sustain its contribution to the effort in Iraq.

Georgia’s GSSOP trained troops form part of the dedicated force called for in UN Security Council Resolution 1546 to protect UN forces in Iraq.

Georgia needs the assistance, due to the Georgian military’s limited resources. “These guys came to us with pretty much nothing except a set of cammies and their (weapons),” said Hsie. “We’re just trying to properly equip them.”

The gear issue will cover all aspects of equipment needed to professionalize a battalion. The individual soldiers have already received the majority of their individual issue.

“We gave them the full issue that a military soldier would need just to do his job and do it properly,” said Gunnery Sgt. David Harris, the GSSOP logistics chief and native of Tell City, Ind. “It’s extremely important due to the fact that they will be properly equipped to fight the battle, and it gives them the morale of looking like soldiers and having the equipment to do the job.”

The supplies were donated to Georgia by the United States and several other nations through the Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program. Hungry donated small arms. The Czech Republic and Romania contributed ammunition.

According to Hsie, approximately $4,000 in gear per soldier was given to each of the 558 members of the 22nd Battalion in addition to gear issued to the unit such as trucks, and general-purpose tents.

“We gave them three (Russian) 5-ton Ural 4320 Cargo Trucks, six British Land Rovers, three hard top and three soft top, and one Land Rover ambulance purchased from a vendor in Turkey,” Hsie said, highlighting some of the more costly items.

Other categories of equipment issued to the 22nd Battalion were administrative supplies such as paper, dry-erase boards, markers, and cleaning supplies such as brooms and disinfectant.

“We gave them all their training supplies too, all their targets, ear plugs, pasties and other equipment required to run a range,” Hsie explained.

The battalion was also outfitted with office furniture, and standard of living amenities like kerosene heaters for use in the winter.

One of the challenges that arose during the issue process was with the first-aid kits. When the kits arrived it was determined that they were not adequate for the Iraq mission.

“The first aid kits were really small. Our medical personnel determined that they would be insufficient for their mission, so they’re ordering ones like our IFAKs (Improved First Aid Kits),” Hsie explained. The first aid kits that arrived in the initial order will be issued to non-deploying units.

According to Harris, something that stood out in his mind was the Georgian soldiers’ appreciation for the gear they were given. “The majority of it is just the attitude, saying ‘thank you.’ You can see it in their eyes as their going through the line. They’re happy to be getting the equipment we’re giving them”

“Because they’ve never had anything, everything they get they take great care of,” Harris explained. “They don’t like getting their uniforms dirty or anything like that because they only have two or three sets.”

The Georgian soldiers’ appreciation for the new gear extends beyond their personal equipment to the unit items issued to the 22nd Battalion. While the Land Rovers are currently being used for daily battalion functions, the original shipping plastic can still be seen covering the seats in an effort to preserve the quality of the vehicles as long as possible.

Harris concluded, “They take nothing we give them for granted. They’re very appreciative and they take extremely good care of their things.”

American, Indian Navies Demonstrate Sea Partnership During Malabar 05

ARABIAN SEA (NNS) -- American and Indian naval forces have teamed together for a bilateral naval exercise that began Sept. 27 off the southwest coast of India.

The annual exercise, known as Malabar, includes at-sea maneuvers designed to increase interoperability between the two navies and enhance the cooperative security relationship between India and the United States.

Rumsfeld to skip Japan in Asian tour amid stalemate over U.S. bases

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will bypass Japan during an upcoming visit to Asia because of a stalement with Tokyo over the relocation of U.S. military forces, a news report said Thursday.

Japanese and U.S. officials had been trying to arrange a Rumsfeld stopover later this month as part of a tour through China, South Korea and other Asian neighbors, Kyodo News agency reported citing unidentified Japanese government officials. The plans were scrubbed amid stalled military realignment talks, it said.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said there had been no formal Rumsfeld travel plans in the first place, a stance echoed by Jeffrey Hill, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

"There hasn't been any announcement of Secretary Rumsfeld's travel plans to the region," Hill said. "If a visit wasn't officially planned or scheduled, it can't be officially canceled."

The United States and Japan have been negotiating a repositioning of some of the 50,000 U.S. military personnel based in Japan, most of whom are stationed on the crowded southern island of Okinawa.

Yoshinori Ono, director general of Japan's Defense Agency, said last month he "strongly hoped" the two sides could agree on an interim plan by the end of October to move some of the nearly 20,000 U.S. Marines off Okinawa and close under-used bases.

A key sticking point is Washington's proposal to relocate helicopter operations at the Futenma base to a 2,500-meter offshore runway, Kyodo said. Japan wants the new runway built inside another existing camp.

"Differences remain and negotiations are ongoing," Hill said. "It's a very sensitive and complicated issue."

The talks come amid increasing calls in Japan for the U.S. to streamline its military presence -- for which Japan pays US$5 billion a year in maintenance costs -- as well as Washington's move away from bases abroad. (AP)

October 6, 2005

Isn't this sort of thing a bit like trying to juggle jello?

The problem with such an assessment is that too much depends on who the US was having trouble with, and why.

It's funny to see you guys are talking about how many allies you have , this is kinda like talking which hooker is the most chaste. I am astonished whether you guys read newspsper?
Even according your own poll, the image of US is negative all over the word ,even less favorable than China(which is chicom you are abusing everyday ). http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=247

Do you know why ? Because you are the NO.1 terroristic country in the world, and you President is the NO.1 terrorist in the world. The only difference between you and Islamic fundamentalists is they are suicide-bombers, which is more brutal; while you are using F-16, F-17 and f-117, which is more sophisticated. But you are both murderers.

I can find millions of evidence to support that your country - The United States of America- is hated by almost every country and race in the world. But now i am tired and i wanna go to sleep.....

This message has been edited. Last edited by: chunlai79,

This is what I think of your opinion troll...

chunlai79

nobody mentions the new iraq?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: flyarrow,

flyarrow,

Perhaps once the "official" permanent Iraqi government is voted in early next year they will be officially added to the list.

We'll see.

Germany is headed in the right direction and may soon be added to the list.

---------------------------------------

German-U.S. relations expected to warm up

By Tom Hundley
Tribune foreign correspondent
Published October 19, 2005
subscriber link


LONDON -- For the United States and Europe, Angela Merkel's triumph over Gerhard Schroeder in the "Battle of Chancellors" is expected to produce a subtle but substantive shift in Germany's foreign relations.

The broad outlines of the new German government became clear this week after Merkel, who will become the country's first female chancellor and the first to come from the former East Germany, announced her Cabinet choices. Two key names are Thomas de Maiziere, who will be chief of staff, and Wolfgang Schauble, her interior minister. Both are committed Atlanticists with many friends in Washington.

Schroeder's party shares power

Schroeder last week announced he would not be part of the new government. But after last month's election producing a political stalemate, Merkel will be forced to share power with Schroeder's Social Democrats, who will hold eight Cabinet portfolios to Merkel's six, including the Foreign Ministry.

For that job, the Social Democrats have selected Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a longtime Schroeder confidant who most recently served as his chief of staff. The 49-year-old lawyer has a reputation as a terrific organizer and hard worker, but he has no experience in foreign affairs. He also lacks the considerable charm and charisma of Joschka Fischer, the Green Party leader who held the job in Schroeder's coalition.

"He's known as a fixer, not a big visionary . . . not a high-profile figure," said William Drozdiak, president of the American Council on Germany. "That will open opportunities for Merkel to play a more assertive role in foreign policy."

The biggest change will be a more cooperative attitude with Washington. Merkel is expected to pay an early courtesy call on President Bush.

U.S.-German relations fell after Schroeder salvaged his 2002 election bid by opposing U.S. plans to invade Iraq. But he didn't stop there. Schroeder teamed up with French President Jacques Chirac to make sure the U.S. and Britain lost their attempt to obtain UN Security Council backing for the war.

After that, Bush decided he could not trust Schroeder and refused to speak to him for 18 months.

According to foreign policy analysts on both sides of the Atlantic, Merkel is not expected to reverse policy and send troops to Iraq. Bush and the Iraq war remain deeply unpopular in Germany.

"But the tone will change, and in diplomacy, the tone is often the reality," said Charles Grant, director of the Center for European Reform, a London think tank.

Instead of looking to score points against the U.S., a Merkel-led government will look for common ground. An example followed the Christian Democrats' narrow election victory when the Bundestag, the German parliament, quickly reaffirmed the country's commitment to maintain 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, the second-highest number after the U.S.

quote:

Originally posted by IKV91:

quote:

Originally posted by Sgt_Schlappy:

quote:

Originally posted by komma2:
How do we rank the neutralist bunch in Europe, Finland, Switzerland, Eire and Sweden. Who is most helpful to US interest and who is not?

I would rank them in this order of "helpfulness"...

Sweden: 30%_...(which is about the same as France & Germany)_
Finland: 20%
Switzerland & Eire: 10%

Sweden: 60%
Finland: 40%
Swiss: 50%
Eire: 50%

France: 10% (bright people)
Germany: 30%

as to sweden and finland... i'd say with finland it'd depend on both whether us is allied to or in opposition with russia and whether russia happens to be a noticeable threat to finland or not.

i'd also point out that out of those 2 countries finnish DID fight and defend their country, while swedish simply went along

and i'd also suggest you might want to choose to hold your breath on both iraq and afghanistan. hardly needs explaining, right?

quote:

Originally posted by Sgt_Schlappy:
My Top 3:

U.K.
Israel
Australia



A few 95%s...

Canada
Japan
South Korea
Turkey



And a whole lot of 50%s out there!

UK.. of course... the United States is like the retarded "baby hughey" on a 60 year tantrum.. and they feel they are still our parent following us around with a clean diaper....

ISRAEL if they aren't, they BETTER be!.. You don't BITE the hand that feeds you..
(We basically TOOK that land "Israel" from Palestine and GAVE it to the Jews for a resort and easy access to military base.) Even though we had absolutely NO RIGHT to take a part of someone elses country and give it AWAY to their religious enemies.

Australia... Would probably just because we are supposed to be a predominantly "white" country, but NOT WHERE I LIVE. Plus they would do it for the action and they would know we would WIN.

CANADA.... would because we are too close geographically.. If they were further away, they would drop us like a poopie-stick.

JAPAN.... will be our friends as long as we keep giving them ideas to improve upon. Money talks....Most of those who opposed the "Emperor" in WW2 are dead...He surrendered, remember, days before the bomb dropped, but his royal guard held him captive and shut off his communication...We had plans to drop a bomb somewhere anyway..

At this point, with what our President has done by going against the sanctions of the United Nations... I wouldn't be suprised if England turned their backs on us.. I'm sure THEY ALL WANT TO...BUT we are winners, eventually they will all side with us or die..

"You don't know the POWER of the DARK SIDE!"

Romania, United States Nearing Agreement on Military Bases

(Source: US State Dept.; issued Oct. 24, 2005)

WASHINGTON --- The United States and Romania expect to reach an agreement “very soon” to set up American military facilities on or near the Black Sea, U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said October 23 in Bucharest, Romania.

The negotiations have concluded and “only minor details are still pending,” Romanian President Traian Basescu said during a news conference with Hadley at Cotroceni Palace.

Basescu said the sites in Romania likely would include the port city of Constanta as well as the Babadag training area just south of Lake Razelm on the Danube Delta. Another possible site would be near the city of Fetesti, about midway between Bucharest and Constanta.

U.S. Department of Defense officials previously had announced that Black Sea facilities, if approved, would be used mainly as temporary bases for a few thousand troops on short assignments. The troops’ home bases would remain in the United States or Germany. About 100 American personnel would be on long-term assignment in the region as part of an Eastern European Task Force.

The potential bases in Romania are part of a larger reorganization of U.S. military deployment around the globe. The U.S. European Command plans to trim its military presence from 112,000 troops to about 68,500 over the next several years. Those forces remaining in Europe will focus on being able swiftly to deploy to temporary locations in the Balkans and southeast Europe, Eurasia and Africa.

“The discussions between the United States and Romania on this subject have been under way for some time, and they have made very good progress,” Hadley said during the October 23 news conference.

“There is an issue of finalizing the relevant agreement and then signing it,” he said. “The framework basically allows access to facilities so as to facilitate cooperation between the forces of the United States and Romania.”

“We look forward to the conclusion of the agreement very soon,” Hadley added.

Basescu told reporters that he could discuss few details of the pending agreement. Asked about specific locations, he said, “You can imagine the area Babadag, Constanta and, maybe, Fetesti.”

In practical terms, he said, “the agreement is with the [U.S.] State Department and the [Romanian] Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the last details. I believe that only minor details are still pending, and the signature of the treaty has become an administrative issue.”

Among the issues still being discussed is who within the U.S. government would visit Romania to conclude the treaty formally, Basescu said.

Both Romania and neighboring Bulgaria have allowed U.S. forces to use their military facilities on a recurring basis. Both nations allowed U.S. troops to use their facilities as staging areas for Iraq and Afghanistan operations, and this close cooperation led to President Bush calling for their swift admission to NATO, which took place in 2004.

“We are here also to say thank you to the government of Romania and the Romanian people for the support they have given on so many important issues,” Hadley said during the news conference. “We are allies in the struggle against terror in Afghanistan and in Iraq.”

The Black Sea is considered a strategic transit point between Europe and Eurasia.

-ends-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm adding Iraq and Afghanistan to the list of 90%s for now, although an argument can probably be made for listing them with the 99%s at this time.

MOST RECENT RANKINGS

99%s
UK
Australia
Poland
Italy
Denmark
Japan
S. Korea
Taiwan
Thailand
Singapore

90%s
Netherlands
Iceland
Ukraine
Czech Rep
Georgia
Hungary
Bulgaria
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
The 3 Baltic States (Lit, Lat & Estn)
Kuwait
Iraq
Afghanistan

82.5%s
India
Israel

75%s
Philippines
Pakistan
Jordan
Columbia

60%s
Norway
Ireland
Portugal
Turkey
Canada
Egypt
U.A.E.
Oman
Qatar
Bahrain

50%s
Finland
Greece
Lebanon
Indonesia
Malaysia
Vietnam
New Zealand

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sgt_Schlappy,

US, Japan Agree on Relocation of Military Air Base on Okinawa

By Steve Herman
Tokyo
26 October 2005

A major barrier has been cleared for a deal between Japan and the United States on the realignment of American forces in the country. A breakthrough came on the third and final day of negotiations.

The agreement came after the lead U.S. negotiator, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Richard Lawless, postponed his scheduled Wednesday morning departure.

With the talks extended past their deadline, the two allies then reached an agreement about where to relocate the Marine Corps's Futenma air station on Okinawa.

Mr. Lawless told reporters his team agreed to an offer made by the Japan Defense Agency.

"The U.S. side, taking into consideration the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance, has today accepted the most recent JDA proposal and plan of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps air station at Futenma," he said.

That plan will move the aircraft to another Marine base on Okinawa, Camp Schwab. U.S. negotiators originally had pushed instead for construction of a new offshore heliport.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi says he is glad that an agreement has finally been reached.

Mr. Koizumi says it is now important to implement the agreement as soon as possible and to win the understanding and support of local governments on Okinawa.

A major city has grown up around the Futenma air base since U.S. forces occupied it after World War Two. The aircraft at the base will now be in a more rural area.

The deal on Futenma clears the way for a so-called interim agreement on realignment to be signed at talks on Saturday in Washington.

The United States has more than 50,000 troops in Japan - more than half of them on Okinawa island, the poorest and one of the country's smallest prefectures. As the island's population has grown, cities have built up around the military bases, causing friction with the Okinawans, which has been worsened at times when U.S. troops have committed violent crimes or been involved in accidents.

It is not clear whether this agreement will alleviate the bases burden on Okinawa, and it may still face opposition there. The prefecture's governor has insisted that the Futenma base be moved off the island entirely.

There is opposition elsewhere, as well, to the force realignment. The Pentagon wants to transfer several hundred Army troops from the United States to a small base near Tokyo, but politicians near the base say they will fight any such move.

Wednesday's agreement came as Japan's parliament agreed to extend the country's naval mission in the Indian Ocean. The one-year extension of the mission, first approved in late 2001, allows Japan's Maritime Self Defense Force to provide refueling and other support for U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan.

The parliament still must decide on extending the mission of nearly 600 non-combat troops in Southern Iraq. Their mandate is due to expire in December.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/200...mil-051026-voa03.htm

Japan to Harbor Nuclear-Powered Carrier

Associated Press
October 28, 2005
link

WASHINGTON - United States and Japanese officials have agreed to allow the Navy to station a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Japan for the first time, the Navy announced Thursday.

Though American troops have been based in Japan since the end of World War II, the Japanese public has long been wary of a U.S. nuclear presence because of concerns about possible radiation leaks. The decision comes 60 years after the United States brought the war to an end by dropping atomic bombs on a pair of Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"The security environment in the Western Pacific region increasingly requires that the U.S. Navy station the most capable ships forward," the Navy said in a statement. The deployment of the carrier, the Navy said, will "fulfill the U.S. government's commitment to the defense of Japan, and the maintenance of international peace and security in the Far East."

Nuclear-powered warships have visited Japanese ports more than 1,200 times since 1964. The Navy said the United States has provided firm commitments to the government of Japan regarding the safe use of Japanese ports by the nuclear powered warships, and it pledged to observe strictly all safety precautions and procedures.

This is the second deal to come to light this week between the two governments, in advance of high-level meetings Friday and Saturday at the Pentagon between U.S. Defense and State Department officials and Japanese military and foreign ministers. On Wednesday, U.S. officials struck a deal with Japan to build a heliport at an American base in Okinawa.

The nuclear-powered carrier would replace the USS Kitty Hawk, a diesel-powered carrier based in Yokosuka, Japan.

A Japanese Embassy official did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Kitty Hawk, commissioned in 1961, is the oldest ship in full active service in the Navy and the only American aircraft carrier permanently deployed abroad. The new carrier would arrive in Japan in 2008, when the Kitty Hawk is scheduled to return to the United States and be decommissioned.

The Navy, in its statement, said the ship rotation is part of a long-range plan to replace older ships, while considering the "unpredictable security environment" in the Western Pacific.

It was not clear which nuclear-powered carrier would replace the Kitty Hawk. The Navy has nine active nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Another, named after former President George H.W. Bush, is being built.

Japan's prime minister was expected to discuss the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Japan when he meets President Bush next month.

The Marine base agreement, which would close the Marine Corps Air Station, Futenma, and build a heliport at another base on the island, Camp Schwab, ran into opposition from the island's residents Thursday. Japan's defense chief predicted Tokyo would struggle to get their approval for the plan.

Critics of the U.S. bases support closing Futenma but oppose any new military construction. The agreement opens the way for high-level talks on Saturday in Washington on the broader realignment of the 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan, part of the American effort to streamline its military overseas and create a leaner, more flexible fighting force.

5,000 U.S. Troops to Be Deployed In Bulgaria, Romania

(Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; issued Oct. 25, 2005)

The U.S. military plans to deploy some 5,000 troops in Bulgaria and Romania next year as part of a plan to create new, more flexible bases in Eastern Europe.

Jeffrey Levine, the deputy U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria, said the troops will rotate between shared military facilities in both countries. He estimated that 2,700 troops will be deployed in Bulgaria. Romania will host around 2,300 troops.

Romanian President Traian Basescu said this week that negotiations for a U.S. military base in his country are nearly complete.

The deployments are part of a broader U.S. troop realignment outlined by U.S. President George W. Bush last year.

As part of the plan, tens of thousands of U.S. troops based in Germany and elsewhere in Europe will be shifted further east into smaller, more flexible bases, or redeployed back to the United States.

U.S., Japanese Leaders Recommend Closer Ties, Troop Shifts

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2005 – Some 7,000 Marines of the headquarters of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force will relocate from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam over the next six years as part of recommendations accepted by the United States and Japan today.

The recommendations come out of the "2 plus 2" meeting hosted by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and including the Japanese defense minister, Yoshinori Ohno; U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; and Japanese foreign minister Nobutaka Machimura.

The 2 plus 2 charts the course of the U.S.-Japanese Alliance. The recommendations address the roles, missions and capabilities the United States provides in defense of Japan and also those of Japan's Self-Defense Forces. The recommendations recognize Japan's increasing influence in the world and call for the Japanese to shoulder a greater role in global security.

"Like all alliances, this relationship must and is, in fact, evolving to remain strong and relevant," Rumsfeld said in a Pentagon news conference today. "It's our joint responsibility to manage the alliance's evolution, and we are getting that job done."

Japan's global involvement includes troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and being a member of the Six-Party Talks to counter North Korea's nuclear program. It is also a player in the ballistic-missile-defense field and is a valued ally in the fight against global terrorism. All these demonstrate "Japan's place as an important contributor to global, as well as regional, security in these still-early years of the 21st century," Rumsfeld said.

Overall recommendations from the meeting call for much closer Japanese-U.S. military ties, including close and continuous policy and operational coordination. Senior officials speaking on background said this is a major step forward.

Another step comes when Japanese forces institute joint commands in March 2006. This will allow Japanese ground-, air- and sea-defense forces to work more closely together, officials said. The Japanese step comes at a perfect time to build closer ties between Japan and the United States. Today's recommendations call for strengthened bilateral contingency planning, locating U.S. and Japanese together, enhancing information sharing, and improving interoperability.

They also call for expanded Japanese training in the United States. Currently, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force travels to Alaska for training, and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force exercises often with U.S. counterparts. The Ground Self-Defense Force does not currently exercise often with the United States, but senior officials see opportunities for that in Guam, Alaska, Hawaii and the continental United States.

The recommendations also call for more bilateral and multilateral exercises, especially to improve capabilities in air defense, counterterrorism, humanitarian-relief, peacekeeping and search-and-rescue operations, and in countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Force posture realignment is also a large part of the recommendations the leaders agreed upon in the talks. Just over 50,000 U.S. servicemembers are in Japan. The 7,000 Marines moving to Guam will bring that number down somewhat, but more U.S. forces will move within Japan than transfer elsewhere. The plan calls for U.S. and Japanese headquarters and capabilities to be located together. For example, Japan's Air Defense Command headquarters will move to Yokota Air Base, home of the U.S. 5th Air Force.

The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force will establish a headquarters at the U.S. headquarters at Camp Zama, strengthening the ties between the two commands. The Japanese will also base a new X-band radar, used for ballistic missile defense, somewhere in the country and will share all data from that radar with U.S. forces.

The recommendations urge speeding up relocation of the U.S. Marines' Futenma Air Base in Okinawa. Local Japanese have requested the return of the base, which hosts helicopters and C-130 cargo aircraft. The allies agreed to relocate the base to the shoreline area of Camp Schwab, elsewhere on the island of Okinawa. The Futenma decision has been hanging fire since 1996 and has been a flash point for Okinawans' displeasure with hosting U.S. forces on their island.

Also on Okinawa, the United States agreed to consolidate U.S. Marine forces on the island and return significant chunks of land on the island's densely populated southern portion to Japan.

The recommendations also call for shifting portions of the U.S. Navy's Carrier Air Wing 5 from Atsugi Air Facility to Iwakuni Air Station. Essentially, jets will operate from Iwakuni and helicopters from Atsugi.

The Japanese government will fund the greater portion of recommended relocations, officials said. Minister Ohno said through a translator that when he was the Japanese finance minister he was known as "Mr. Oh, no." But for this, he said, he wants to be known as "Mr. Oh, yes."

Both the foreign minister and defense minister accepted the idea that Japan must do more to promote security in the world. They both said the recommendations from the 2 plus 2 are a good start.

U.S. officials said the recommendations are the most far-reaching change in the alliance since the United States returned Okinawa to the Japanese in 1972.

The recommendations recognize that the relationship and the world have changed. "The specific roles that we would expect of Japan are those roles that Japan feels comfortable performing," Rumsfeld said. "Japan has the second-largest economy on the face of the Earth. The people of Japan benefit greatly from the international system. Clearly Japan has an interest in the success of the international system, and with an interest in that success ... it seems to me it's appropriate for Japan to find ways in the 21st century that they can contribute to making the system successful."

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Oct2005/20051029_3186.html

U.S. to cut troop level in Japan, boost ties

By Thom Shanker
New York Times News Service
Published October 30, 2005


WASHINGTON -- The United States and Japan on Saturday announced an agreement to reshape their military alliance, including the reduction of Marines on Okinawa and the construction of a new generation of radar equipment in Japan as part of a missile defense system.

After a meeting of the two nations' foreign and defense ministers, a joint agreement was released calling on Japan to accept more responsibility for its defense, and requiring the United States and Japan to further integrate planning in case of conflict. The two sides agreed to greater sharing of intelligence and to expand bilateral military training and exercises.

The agreement and subsequent statements gave an indication of Japan's desire to take an even greater role in global security missions within constitutional constraints imposed at the end of World War II. The meeting came as Japan has troops in Iraq, the first time Tokyo has deployed forces into a combat zone since World War II.

At a Pentagon news conference, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the agreement will "ensure a durable, more balanced and surely more capable alliance."

His counterpart, Yoshinori Ono, said that Japan was ready to move beyond territorial defense to play a greater role in contributing to "peace and security around the world."

But Ono said Japanese military missions across Asia or around the globe would be for humanitarian and reconstruction efforts, or for logistical support to counterterrorism missions conducted with the United States. Although any use of the military beyond its territorial waters is a dramatic extension for a nation that accepted pacifist limits in its postwar constitution, Japan still would not insert combat troops into combat operations outside Japan.

Ending a decade of negotiations on the placement of U.S. troops within Japan, the agreement seeks to remove a severe irritant in relations between the two countries by reducing U.S. military personnel on Okinawa, where residents complain of noise and crime.

The number of U.S. military personnel in Japan, now about 50,000, will fall by 7,000 with the relocation of some Marine Corps units from Okinawa to Guam.

The move also has significance for Guam, a U.S. territory that is taking on increasing strategic importance in the Pacific.

The agreement also calls on Japan to deploy the U.S. X-Band radar, a missile defense that identifies and tracks incoming warheads. North Korea fired a missile over Japan in 1998.

The relocation of U.S. forces on Japan and the reshaping of bilateral military headquarters is to be completed in six years. The cost of all movements of U.S. forces in Japan will be paid by the Japanese government; no cost estimate was released on Saturday at the conclusion of talks among Rumsfeld, Ono, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaku Machimura. President Bush is to visit Japan next month.

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U.S.-Japan Military Agreement at a Glance

The Associated Press
October 29, 2005
link

Highlights of the realignment recommendations included in the agreement between the United States and Japan announced Saturday:

-Strengthening bilateral and joint operation coordination. U.S. Forces Japan will establish a bilateral and joint operations coordination center at Yokota Air Base. Sharing the use of the center will ensure coordination among U.S. forces in Japan and Japan's Self-Defense Forces.

-Improvement of U.S. Army command and control capability. Capabilities of the U.S. Army Japan's command structure at Camp Zama will be modernized to a deployable, joint task force-capable operational headquarters element. It will provide an additional capability to respond rapidly for the defense of Japan and other contingencies. The establishment of the headquarters of a Ground SDF Central Readiness Force Command, which will operate units for nationwide mobile operations and special tasks, will be pursued at Camp Zama.

-Collocation of air command and control. Japan's Air Defense Command and relevant units, now located at Fuchu, will be collocated with the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Air Force at Yokota Air Base.

-Yokota Air Base and air space. Measures to facilitate movement of civilian aircraft through Yokota air space will be explored. Options may include reducing the air space under U.S. control and collocation of Japanese air traffic controllers at Yokota Air Base.

-Missile defense. The optimum site for deployment in Japan of a new U.S. X-Band radar system will be examined. As appropriate, the U.S. will deploy active defenses, such as Patriot PAC-3 and Standard Missile (SM-3) to support U.S. treaty commitments.

-Regional realignments of U.S. Marine forces for flexible crisis response. Among the changes to strengthen its force structure in the Pacific, the U.S. is redistributing capabilities among Hawaii, Guam and Okinawa.

-Force reductions. The headquarters of III Marine Expeditionary Force will be relocated to Guam and other locations. Remaining Marine units in Okinawa will be realigned and reduced into a Marine Expeditionary Brigade. About 7,000 Marine officers and enlisted personnel, plus dependents, will be transferred out of Okinawa to Guam.

-Land returns. Both sides discussed the concept of consolidation of Marine Corps units that remain in Okinawa into a smaller total land area, enabling the return of significant land in the densely populated areas south of Kadena Air Force Base. The U.S. stressed its willingness to develop and implement a program for this concept.

- Shared use of facilities. The U.S. is willing to implement shared-use of Kadena Air Force Base, Camp Hanse and other U.S. facilities and areas in Okinawa in cooperation with Japan.

-Relocation of carrier jet and squadrons. The U.S. will move the carrier jet and E-2C squadrons from Atsugi Air Facility to Iwakuni Air Station.

bring in A BUNCH OF PAKISTANI PURIFICATION SQUADS/ANIT-TERROR SQUADS AND SEND THEM WHEREVER YOU NEED that is the only ally we need lol