Oceania The Current State of Iraq

I don't want to be too disagreeable...but, well, the country as a whole was a lot different to how it is now. Then it was, well, a military dictatorship (with Emperor Hirahito as a figurehead, but in reality General Hideki Tojo was in charge of things until '44), but now it is a democracy.

America went in there, under MacArthur, and created a dictatorship so that, by the time the Cold War would come along, Japan would be an ally rather than enemy.

Then much of the populace was very militaristic and nationalistic, but now...well, I don't think they're militaristic anymore. They're a very peaceful people, actually...

But anyway...digressing for a bit.

 

True, they may be very peaceful now. But their basic instincts are still there. That is something that can't be weeded out so quickly. There is no way of knowing, but I just think that their history of warfare will come through if it was necessary.

But there is no real way of knowing unless it happens

 

But their basic instincts are still there.

Then the basic instincts are there for all of us, not just the Japanese. Race does not exist.

 

What I am trying to say is, only the Japanese had suicide pilots. Not the Germans, or the British or anyone. I think that mentality would come back.

 

It's not a natural mentality, though. You aren't born with it. It's something you are brainwashed into, be it through your government (as in Japan) or through "religious" leaders (as in terrorism)

 

Yeah, Russians were no more inclined to run into the line of fire of a machine gun without a weapon than Japanese were to do kamikaze runs. Most people in the war were willing to die for their country, their country just told them to do it in different ways.

 

verywell. I'll admit I'm wrong about the Japanese

 

They're out there? That isn't a good enough reason to go to war. This is just a repeat of the last Gulf War. Give it ten years and we'll be in the same situation.

BecJedi, read my post on the last page. You'll find your comment is totally irrelevant.

E_S

 

It's all well and good to blame the western world for all the worlds problems, but if you look through history, you'll see that the forcing of ones religion onto another has happened on both sides.

I agree completely (bet that came as a shock )!! I wasn?t blaming the world?s problem?s on the West, didn't mean it to sound like I did. And if there were Americans comitting acts of terrorism in Muslin countries, they?d have to be trying to look at the same thing. I?m basically trying to say that we really do need to look at the reason why people would commit such acts of violence, especially from looking at the culture/history.

BecJedi, read my post on the last page. You'll find your comment is totally irrelevant.

Sorry you find it irrelevant, but I was just trying to answer what was written before me with a view from the ?other side? of the story. The comment you quoted was also not meant to be taken as literally.

 

"What I am trying to say is, only the Japanese had suicide pilots. Not the Germans, or the British or anyone. I think that mentality would come back."

The Japanese also had kamikaze submarines, and people in speedboats as well. Anyway, though, it was nationalism and militarism that caused this so-called devotion. Basically it came down to propaganda, and under the circumstances that they (and most every other country in war) were under, there was a whole unity amongst the peoples of the nation. I mean, didn't September 11 unite the Americans? War does that...as does propaganda.

I am quite sure that if the Germans thought of using kamikazes (and saw it as a good weapon of warfare - which it was) then they would have done the same. Their soldiers, and Japanese and Russian soldiers, thought it very honourable to fight and die for one's country (as did the British and French in WWI). They just expressed it differently, I guess.

And every one on this board has their own opinions. What they say doesn't make them wrong, necessarily. If we all agreed then what would be the point of this...discussion?