<B>How much of our propping back up of Japan (if any) do you guys think had to do with guilt over nuking them. How much was due to the lesson learned with Germany after WWI? If it was this last reason, why did it not translate to Afghanastan, Cambodia, Panama, etc.? </B> I don't think it was guilt -- remember, we did the same basic thing with Germany as well. Basically, it was the "make them an ally by pumping money into them" philosophy, which is extraordinarily effective. It didn't translate later on because we don't always learn from our history. Nowadays, "foreign aid" is a great political target because politicians can say "why are we giving your money to other countries?" and rally support. Hopefully, it WILL translate into Afghanistan this time because they will otherwise be a trouble area again 15 years from now.
That's an interesting question. I've never thought about that, and I don't know enough about American history to give an informed response. But I'm thinking that is was, as you say, "due to the lesson learned with Germany after WWI," combined with some sense that Japan could be a trading partner. As I'm thinking about it, what were the world trade dynamics back then? Global trade wasn't nearly as big a consideration as it is today. Maybe that was more of a by-product than a motivation? As for why the US didn't apply the same strategy to smaller countries, I have a thought. Canada is a relatively small boat in a large ocean, so we are quite conscious of the wakes made by the bigger boats. If you are a big boat, perhaps it's easy to overlook the wakes of the small boats, until they take direct aim at you and ram you. Perhaps the US just wasn't aware that small dogs, when provoked or inadvertently trampled on, will bite. I was in Denmark some years ago talking to a Dane about tourists. He said the Japanese come in bus fulls, stay 24 hours, and take pictures of everything. He said the Americans come and expect everything to be like it is at home. The want to eat Big Macs and drink Bud. I thought !?!. There is a stereotype, at least, that Americans just aren't aware of, or sensitive to, or appreciative of, the culture and concerns of smaller nations. Perhaps this translates to upper levels of government too?
