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Military
must curb crimes
Japan asked the U.S. military on Wednesday
to take action against crimes committed
by servicemen, one day after a Japanese
court issued a warrant for the arrest of
U.S. Marine officer, Michael J. Brown, who
allegedly attempted to rape a woman on Okinawa
Island.
Under a 1995 agreement covering U.S. military
personnel in Japan, the police have requested
the military to turn Brown over to Japanese
courts.
In 1995, three U.S. servicemen on Okinawa
Island raped a 12-year-old Japanese schoolgirl.
After the assault, the United States agreed
to be more cooperative in turning criminal
suspects over to Japanese authorities to
investigate.
Okinawa hosts 26,000 of the 48,000 U.S.
military personnel that currently occupy
Japan as part of the U.S.-Japan security
alliance. Residents of Okinawa have complained
about indecent behavior among military personnel
for years. The issue of crimes committed
by U.S. military personnel has become a
very sensitive issue on the island the recent
incident threatens to re-ignite Japanese
resentment over servicemen’s behavior.
The U.S. military owes it to Japan to honor
their request and turn over the accused
serviceman to Japanese authorities, as well
as issue a formal apology for the incident.
Furthermore, the U.S. military must do something
immediately to stop or at least curb the
crimes being committed by U.S. personnel,
especially if these crimes have the potential
to threaten the relationship between Japan
and the United States.
All military personnel represent the United
States, whether they like it or not. For
this reason all upstanding American citizens
should be just as enraged about military
personnel’s misbehavior as the residents
of Okinawa. Too many incidents of rape,
attempted rape and murder involving the
U.S. military have happened. Those responsible
for those crimes are painting a bad, or
perhaps we should say worse, picture of
all Americans and the United States.
The actions that have occurred within the
last several years are abhorrent and inexcusable;
they show a lack of control and discipline
on the part of the U.S. military.
The U.S. military must find a way to control
its personnel before more un-repairable
damage is done.
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