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:

Japan Times

COMMENTARY / Japan

May 27, 2021

America, Japan and how best to defend Taiwan

The most important form of preparation is in fact not military at all; it is, rather, to mitigate the developed world's economic dependence on key commodities and components made in China.

Japan Times

COMMENTARY / World

May 19, 2019

The Senkaku paradox

The U.S. and its allies must prevent local military crises from escalating into great power wars.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 24, 2014

Why the world shouldn't write off Iraq's army

There is little reason to think that the Iraqi army that the U.S. trained and equipped was professionally incompetent or unable to fight Islamic State forces recently. It simply chose not to fight.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 18, 2012

'Picking' a winner in Afghanistan

American debates over the war in Afghanistan tend to focus on how fast we can get our troops home and whether we can work with President Hamid Karzai's government to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban. But at least as important to whether the country will hold together, and whether a return of the Taliban and al-Qaida will be prevented, is who will replace Karzai when his term ends in 2014. The United States must do everything possible to ensure a reformer wins that election.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 17, 2005

On the precipice in Iraq

WASHINGTON-- How are things going in Iraq? The short answer, unfortunately -- based on Brookings' Iraq Index and my own assessments -- is not very well. There is still considerable hope, and much that does go well in Iraq. But on balance, there is more reason for worry than optimism right now.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 11, 2005

Put everything on the table

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's return to six-party negotiations in Beijing has been accompanied by greater civility and seriousness than many expected. Further, the frequent and direct bilateral contacts that have taken place between the U.S. and North Korean delegations -- a softening of the Bush administration's earlier insistence that six-party talks be its only mode of dealing with Pyongyang -- have been surprising and welcome.

COMMENTARY / World

May 18, 2005

Push North Korea toward real reform

WASHINGTON -- As Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill returns to Northeast Asia for talks with U.S. allies on North Korea's nuclear program, the future of negotiations to resolve this terrifying matter has never been bleaker.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 20, 2005

Put a lid on rising Sino-Japanese tensions

WASHINGTON -- Relations between Japan and China, the two great powers of Northeast Asia, have in recent months sunk to their worst levels at least since Tiananmen Square in 1989. This past weekend's anti-Japanese riots in China were unprecedented in the modern era, but they were only the latest in a series of highly unfortunate events.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 21, 2005

The right thing is not permanent tax cuts

WASHINGTON -- Since his re-election, President George W. Bush has emphasized the need for U.S. fiscal responsibility. He has pledged to halve the enormous federal budget deficit in his second term. He has vowed to put social security on a sound, long-term footing. And he has just submitted a 2006 budget request that promises to make the federal government leaner and more effective.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 9, 2004

Neocon lessons for Democrats

WASHINGTON -- As Democrats comb the 2004 election results for lessons, one should be obvious: we need bolder, newer ideas, particularly in this post-9/11 world in the realm of foreign policy. Just as neocons have provided much of the spark and intellectual energy behind modern-day Republicanism, Democrats need a "neoprogressive" movement to give purpose and vision to their party -- and political hope to their future candidates.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 9, 2004

Afghanistan three years on

WASHINGTON -- Three years after the Bush administration led a remarkably quick and bold military operation to overthrow the Taliban regime, how are things going in Afghanistan? The short answer is that there has been considerable progress. But that is largely because things were so bad under the Taliban, not because they are good now.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 8, 2004

No long-term gains against terror yet

WASHINGTON -- So which U.S. President George W. Bush was right? The one who said Aug. 30, the day the Republican National Convention started, that the war on terror might not be winnable, or the Bush who showed up the rest of the week and asserted that victory would be ours?

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 6, 2004

No rush on some 9/11 panel proposals

WASHINGTON -- The recent 9/11 Commission report is without a doubt one of the most thorough, most important and best studies by any such independent group in recent decades in the United States. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry and now President George W. Bush, as well as much of the Congress, are right to push for quick consideration of many of its proposals.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 23, 2004

New approach needed in six-party talks

WASHINGTON -- As the six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear program resume late this month, the outlook for success remains as poor as ever. The Bush administration continues to take a firm stand, insisting on complete, verifiable and irreversible North Korean nuclear disarmament before any discussions on broader issues such as economic aid or the lifting of trade sanctions. North Korea, with few national assets besides its nuclear program to bargain with, appears loath to give the nukes up without getting something substantial for them.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 3, 2004

Japanese troops might be of more benefit elsewhere

WASHINGTON -- After much difficult deliberation and debate, the Koizumi government has decided to send several hundred Japanese troops to the U.S.-led stabilization operation in Iraq. They will be working alongside roughly another 25,000 foreign troops, including just over 10,000 Brits and 3,000 South Koreans, as well as more than 100,000 American soldiers.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 22, 2003

Cutting a deal with Hussein makes sense

WASHINGTON -- The capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein should, in and of itself, make a major difference in the U.S.-led operation to bring peace and stability to Iraq. But it is also important to seize this opportunity and go even further. As unpalatable as it may sound, we should consider a certain type of deal with Hussein -- as long as it leaves him in prison for life. That could take us even closer to success in Iraq.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 29, 2003

Sensible plan for South Korea

WASHINGTON -- Even those who admire U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld rarely consider his diplomatic skills among his strongest suits. Capable of being charming and engaging in person, he tends to come across less well when sniping at allies across oceans over the chief foreign policy issues of the day. As such, it was surprising when the Bush administration let him run its study on overseas military basing almost single-handedly, without the significant involvement of Secretary of State Colin Powell's State Department or the National Security Council. Not only was Rumsfeld's Pentagon naturally in charge of the military aspects of the review, it was also given a dominant voice in its broader strategic aspects and diplomatic implementation.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 1, 2003

U.S. mission remains on track in Iraq

WASHINGTON -- How can we really determine if the Iraq mission is going well? Pessimists worry about recent truck bombings and political assassinations, ongoing serious crime problems, sustained attacks against U.S. forces, and high unemployment together with slow progress at improving the Iraqi standard of living.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 3, 2003

U.S. must offer more, demand more

WASHINGTON -- It was predictable that the six-nation talks last week in Beijing over how to handle the North Korean nuclear crisis would fail to achieve substantive results. Hardliners will argue this proves that diplomacy with the Stalinist North Korean regime can't work. In fact, what it really shows is that diplomacy has yet to be tried. It is time that Washington got serious about offering North Korea a tough but realistic proposal before the Hermit Kingdom develops an even larger nuclear arsenal and an even more desperate foreign policy.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 3, 2003

War notes for the leaders in Pyongyang

WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, as the heavy global workload and overcommitment of the U.S. armed forces has become apparent, some have asked if the United States could handle a major crisis or a war in Korea these days.

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[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.

For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on

By Lance Henderstein

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