I'm not surprised in the least by the story that Obama wanted to apologize to Japan for the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
I thought this was common knowledge. We had this discussion a while back. The Obama administration was floating the idea of the president apologizing.
Of course, the cable released by WikiLeaks proves it, but we already knew that Obama intended to say sorry on behalf of the United States.
We didn't know that Japan rejected Obama's plan.
Although Obama himself didn't participate in anniversary observances in Japan, for the first time ever since the bombings, a U.S. envoy did in 2010.
From August 2010:
On August 6, 2010, the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima was marked.
For the first time, a U.S. envoy attended.
From The Independent:
Washington will for the first time send an official envoy to Hiroshima to mark today's anniversary of the city's destruction by a US atomic bomb in 1945, in a move hailed by campaigners as a milestone in the struggle to abolish nuclear weapons.
The decision, which experts say is prompted partly by Barack Obama's personal commitment to disarmament as well as growing regional concerns about nuclear proliferation, was welcomed by A-bomb survivors.
But US ambassador to Japan John Roos and UK deputy ambassador David Fitton, who is also attending, will shrug off demands for an apology and questions about the controversial bombing, which killed more than 140,000 people, mostly civilians.
From CNSNews:
The Kyodo news agency said the head of a Hiroshima victims organization, Kazushi Kaneko, called for a U.S. apology.
“I want the U.S. representative to feel the realities of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and correct the U.S. perception that the bombing was the right choice,” the 84-year-old was quoted as saying.
Ahead of a trip by Obama to Japan last November, invitations to the president from the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki prompted speculation that he might offer an apology for the bombings.
Obama did not visit the two cities, citing time constraints, but said he would like to do so during his presidency. He plans to visit Japan again later this year, for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Has Japan apologized for its attack on Pearl Harbor and drawing the U.S. into war?
Has Japan apologized to the people of Nagasaki for its responsibility in not sparing them the same fate as the people of Hiroshima?
Should we talk about the Bataan Death March and other atrocities committed by the Japanese during World War II?
Bring on the apologies.
Video.
This 2010 AP report gives the impression that the Japanese were yearning for an apology from Obama.
Interesting that Obama was willing but Japan was opposed.
From Investors.com:
Leaked cables show Japan nixed a presidential apology to Hiroshima and Nagasaki for using nukes to end the overseas contingency operation known as World War II. Will the next president apologize for the current one?
The obsessive need of this president to apologize for American exceptionalism and our defense of freedom continued recently when Barack Obama's State Department (run by Hillary Clinton) contacted the family of al-Qaida propagandist and recruiter Samir Khan to "express its condolences" to his family.
...A heretofore secret cable dated Sept. 3, 2009, was recently released by WikiLeaks. Sent to Secretary of State Clinton, it reported Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka telling U.S. Ambassador John Roos that "the idea of President Obama visiting Hiroshima to apologize for the atomic bombing during World War II is a 'nonstarter.'"
The Japanese feared the apology would be exploited by anti-nuclear groups and those opposed to the defensive alliance between Japan and the U.S
Whatever Tokyo's motive, Obama's motive was to once again apologize for defending freedom, this time for winning with devastating finality the war Japan started.
After World War II, and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans, no American president has ever considered apologizing for the actions the U.S. took to end the war we did not start.
The notion that Obama, on behalf of the nation, would apologize for liberating millions from tyranny and protecting our freedom is sickening.
Obama's legacy: The Bow.
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