BLOWBACK, AND AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY America prides itself on being the worlds largest superpower, and the American public rarely hears about wrongdoings made by the American government. On the occasional occurrence when the media has delivered such controversial news, it is gone before the public really has a chance to absorb all the information. American foreign policy is often times possibly doing more harm than good to foreign nations and the way in which certain matters are handled reflects on the American nation as a whole. In Chalmers Johnsons book, BLOWBACK, he criticizes the American government for not taking full responsibility for its actions, and ignoring major problems that we create. One major criticism of American foreign policy is the way we handle certain events that affect our relations with foreign nations. A fairly recent occurrence at Okinawa, an island located at the southernmost tip of Japan, reflects a bad example of American military personnel. In September of 1995, two marines, Pfc. Rodrico Harp and Pfc. Kendric Ledet, along with Seamen Marcus Gill, raped a twelve-year-old girl at random. Apparently this is not uncommon, and the punishments for crimes like these are often delayed and lenient. High-ranking military officials seem to downplay the effects and seriousness of these crimes if not condone them. Another major concern regarding this incident is the amount of military bases in Japan, and their purpose. At the time of the rape, there were 42 American military bases on Okinawa. The cold war had been over for nearly ten years, and relations were assumed peaceful. Are all of these bases necessary? The United States government believes that American military presence in Okinawa is benefiting the Japanese more than Americans. Other incidents involving military personnel and Japanese civilians include, many auto accidents, drunk driving, hit and runs, and the use of chemical weapons testing on neighboring i...
