Michael O'Hanlon - The Japan Times

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Michael O'Hanlon

For Michael O'Hanlon's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 19, 2003

History will credit Shinseki

WASHINGTON -- As he stepped down from office this week as the U.S. Army chief of staff, Gen. Eric Shinseki probably breathed a big sigh of relief. He had been put through the meat grinder in his job, particularly during Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's tenure.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 2, 2003

Enough with the France-bashing, please

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and some of his Pentagon associates appear to be on a private vendetta against France. The Pentagon has not denied, and may even have planted, false rumors that France helped some members of Saddam Hussein's government escape Iraq during the recent war.

COMMENTARY / World

May 12, 2003

Time to push bigger deal with Pyongyang

WASHINGTON -- When South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun visits Washington this week, what can he and President George W. Bush possibly talk about?

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 15, 2003

Panama's combat lessons apply to Iraq

WASHINGTON -- Unless Iraq's military capitulates quickly, the most difficult phase of a war to overthrow President Saddam Hussein will likely be the battle for Baghdad. American military triumphs since 1990 have taken place in the open desert of Arabia, the airspace over the Balkans and the barren plains of Afghanistan. Fighting in cities is a different matter; exercises and simulations show it remains an enormous challenge even for today's U.S. armed forces.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 19, 2003

It's no longer just the economy, stupid

WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, as often in the past, many key Democrats have contributed importantly to American national-security debates. They have been trying to increase funding for homeland security efforts, prodding President George W. Bush to remain multilateral in his approach to Iraq even as they support his basic goals and his strong leadership on the issue, and rightly criticizing the president for an uncertain North Korea policy. For the good of the party and the country, they need to keep it up.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 30, 2003

Forget about military draft

WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, motivated partly by a looming war in Iraq, a debate has again begun about whether the United States should adopt military conscription to replace its all-volunteer force. While the motivation behind this debate is understandable, it would be a very bad idea -- the equivalent of replacing the New York Yankees with a bunch of middle-aged weekend softball players in a sports event.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 12, 2003

War deadline weeks away

WASHINGTON -- When will U.S. President George W. Bush have to decide whether to go to war against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein?

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 14, 2002

South Korean crisis brewing

WASHINGTON -- The makings of a crisis are evident on the Korean Peninsula. And it is not about North Korea's clandestine uranium-enrichment program or about the Dec. 19 presidential elections. Instead the crisis revolves around the U.S. armed forces, which are badly mishandling relations with South Korea. Not only is this increasing anti-Americanism among long-standing friends complicating day-to-day alliance activities, it is making the United States begin to resemble, in South Korean eyes, the latest in a longline of foreign occupiers.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 5, 2002

Welcome weapons cutbacks

WASHINGTON -- According to recent reports, Pentagon officials are considering cuts in several weapons programs as they develop their 2004 budget proposal. If defense spending is to be kept within reasonable bounds, these are exactly the sorts of reductions that will be required.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 28, 2002

Stick to the facts on Saddam Hussein

WASHINGTON -- The claims of U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney that Iraq might join with terrorists to strike the United States at any time are far-fetched. Very little about the historical record or current intelligence lends credence to that view. It cannot be fully dismissed as a possibility, but it appears to be a remote one at worst. There is a serious argument for overthrowing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but it is not as conclusive as Rumsfeld and Cheney argue, and it has more to do with how an Iraqi nuclear weapon might change Hussein's behavior in the region than with terrorism.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 2, 2002

Deadline for winter attack is drawing near

WASHINGTON -- As the saying goes, while politicians and civilians like to think about strategy when contemplating war, generals think logistics. If the United States and any coalition partners go to war against Iraq, the first part of that logistics effort requires getting up to a quarter million combat troops from the U.S. to the Persian Gulf.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 1, 2002

A marine's lessons for Europe

WASHINGTON -- As expected, it has just been announced that U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Jones will soon take the reins as NATO's top military leader, otherwise known as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, or SACEUR. It will be the first time that a marine officer holds that position, which has traditionally been held by a U.S. Army or Air Force officer.

COMMENTARY / World

May 3, 2002

U.S. homeland still insecure

Half a year after the creation of the Office of Homeland Security, how well is the Bush administration doing in its efforts to improve protection of the United States against terrorist attacks? No major attacks have occurred since Sept. 11, giving a first impression that the effort is going well. But al-Qaeda has historically spaced its major terrorist actions by one to two years, and may need more time in this case given the military action in Afghanistan, so the absence of major attacks in the last seven months has only limited significance. In fact, while the administration has made impressive progress to date, it has not yet developed general plans, much less requested budget proposals and implemented programs, for a range of other threats. As a result, the country is still rather vulnerable.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 29, 2002

Possibility of Osama's escape haunts U.S.

WASHINGTON -- Was Osama bin Laden in the mountains of Tora Bora in the first half of December? And did the U.S. decision to rely on Afghan militias and Pakistani troops, rather than American forces, to seal off escape routes from those mountains permit bin Laden to escape during the intensive bombing campaign of that month?

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 6, 2002

Bush's foreign aid revolution

WASHINGTON -- Just as U.S. President Richard Nixon was able to use his conservative credentials to fend off critics and go to China, President George W. Bush has just announced a policy change that Republicans have opposed for years, but that is long overdue. Over a period of a few years, Bush would increase annual U.S. development aid for poor countries by $5 billion, or about 50 percent. He would rightly channel that increased assistance to countries that have adopted the kinds of sound economic policies that allow them to put the resources to good use.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 31, 2001

A realistic approach to missile defense talks

WASHINGTON — During the G8 meeting in Genoa, U.S. President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to start discussions on how the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty might be modified or replaced.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 16, 2001

The worst is yet to come in Macedonia

WASHINGTON -- While the world's eyes were fixed on Hainan Island off the coast of China, Macedonia's ethnic Albanian rebels were completing a tactical retreat after an offensive by government forces. Some hope that Macedonia's government will now, as expected, offer greater political rights to its ethnic Albanian minority and that the looming civil war in that country may be defused. In that event, NATO could safely remain on the sidelines of the conflict. There is also hope that peace will finally descend on the Balkans now that former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is out of the way.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 27, 2000

Russia on the right track

WASHINGTON -- While awaiting word on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, Russian President Vladimir Putin has just reiterated his desire for deep cuts in nuclear forces. Reportedly, he would consider a treaty allowing Russia and the United States only 1,000 strategic nuclear warheads each. Although Putin's proposal springs largely from Russia's economic weakness, it is a very sound idea, and whoever winds up winning Florida's electoral votes would be well advised to take his suggestion seriously.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 25, 2000

Japan's not ready for permanent UNSC seat

WASHINGTON -- Earlier this month, at the United Nations, Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono pressed Japan's case for a permanent U.N. Security Council seat. He argued that Japan's hefty financial contributions to the U.N., its other foreign assistance activities and its strong support for global nonproliferation and arms control make it a top global player -- not only in economics and diplomacy, but in the security sphere as well.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 17, 2000

U.S. military is no paper tiger

Is the U.S. military ready? Texas Gov. and Republican presidential nominee George Bush brought this important issue into the political spotlight at the Republican convention, when he criticized the administration of President Bill Clinton and, by implication, vice president and Democratic nominee Al Gore, for allowing U.S. military forces to deteriorate badly during its watch. Democrats have denied the allegations, and claimed that the U.S. military has never been finer. Where does the truth lie?

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