Regarding Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright's Feb. 26 article, "Building a stronger alliance": Wright's perception of the U.S.-Japan security alliance seems constrained by the same "horse blinders" that characterize the general approach of the U.S. military toward Asia. In this post-Cold War era, he needs to define exactly what or whom the alliance is against. Few believe it's against North Korea -- that's a red herring. If it's against China, he should have the candor and fortitude to say so. Then the public would be "fully informed" as he puts it.
Wright goes on to talk about "just being good neighbors." How is the United States a neighbor of Japan except through the presence of its military forces in Japan and South Korea?
What Wright apparently fails to appreciate is that the movement to expel U.S. forces from Okinawa is not fundamentally driven by aircraft "noise" or even the repeated sexual abuse of Japanese women and girls. It is driven by the deep desire to remove the historic stain of the U.S. military presence and the continuing subjugation of the Japanese nation.