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The Air Force defends its installations, most notably

Kadena Air Base, primarily by citing the potential for

conflict in Korea and elsewhere in East Asia.  Okinawa is

the "keystone of the Pacific," explained one senior Air

Force officer.46   That U.S. troops need to be close to

potential conflicts is only part of the justification;

another concern is "presence is influence."47   Nevertheless,

my briefer acknowledged that continued changes in the re-

gional threat environment would warrant reconsideration of

the U.S. military presence: "it is only logical to assume

that major strategic changes would result in similar

changes in deployments."48   He seemed to recognize that a

diminishing threat of war, especially on the Korean

peninsula, would automatically reduce the need for bases

in Okinawa.

The Marine Corps Digs In

Not so the Marine Corps, which accounts for the bulk

of U.S. facilities on the island.  The Cold War may be

over, but the Marines see no diminution of the need for a

forward U.S. presence.  Hegemonic communism may have dis-

appeared, but--surprise, surprise!--the American bases on

Okinawa are needed now more than ever.  "Simply put,"

explain the Marines, "we are here to defend Japan!"49   From

whom?  The answer does not seem to matter.  Say the

Marines, "We, the U.S. and specifically, the U.S. Marine

Corps are OBLIGATED, by law and a sense of friendship to

be here."50

It is an astonishing assertion that the 1952 treaty,

signed at the height of the Cold War, while the Korean War

raged, requires the United States to keep its military

presence unchanged 46 years later.  From whom do the

Marines have a special obligation to protect Japan?

The Soviet Union may be gone, but, the Marines say,

there are China and North Korea.  Such desperate threat

procurement is not compelling.  China has so far been

assertive rather than aggressive in East Asia.  Its mili-

tary buildup has thus far been measured, as Beijing trades

quantity for quality.  Moreover, Japan, with the world's

second largest economy, is capable of maintaining a mili-

tary with significant defensive potential that could deter

future Chinese aggression.51

North Korea is an even more pitiful replacement for

the threat posed by the Soviet Union.  The country is

bankrupt and starving; it has lost all of its important

allies, including China, which now has closer economic