An Election View From Asia

An American friend working in Tokyo, Japan sent out his annual holiday message and has a perspective on the election from there. I asked him if I may share it here and he agreed.

This is a mass mailing, intended for a good number of family members, relatives and friends, far and wide. If you get caught up in it for some reason, I hope you will let it slide as I promise I will not "spam" again. It is just that due to the time sensitive nature of the information, I went to my address book and just sent out the messages in bulk. I do invite you to look over the content of the message, however, because I believe it to be of vital interest to all who are concerned about the future.

Most end-of-the-year seasonal letters and e-mails start with something like this: "Frank just finished his third year of college", or "we had a great week at Disney World in the spring, here are some pics", or "the littlest one is now on the drill team" or "George finally got around to fixing our pool this month". That kind of stuff. So it may come as a bit of a surprise to get one like this, which is anything but typical. I hope you will read it through to the end and take appropriate action.

I am here in the Tokyo-area in Japan as you know. As I speak, there are several thousands of short, intermediate and long-range missiles including dreaded "Scuds" and "Taepodong" pointed in my direction and at thousands of US military in bases thronged around where I write at this moment in the Tokyo/Yokohama area. In these scuds are weapons of mass destruction--agreed by all observers and claimed by the North Koreans themselves--not the least being terrible chemical agents, biological nightmares, and of course, possibly nuclear explosives. Not much of a fun Christmas message, you will say. Well, read on. It gets worse.



These weapons are at the control of every whim of Kim Jong-il, the Dictator of North Korea - as demented, cruel and delusional a tyrant as the world has ever known. As you know, North Korea is just next to Japan and considers Japan, outside of the United States, as "Enemy Number One". That is why I write.

You see, just the other day, Senator Joseph Biden, Senator Obama's running mate, made an incredible statement now widely recognized as a major slip of the tongue. It just about knocked me out of my chair. It was actually brutally honest and chilling and showed what he was really thinking. I am convinced that Biden, who is a senior foreign policy figure, who has access to high-level government briefings as to what are the current or near future threats to the United States, knows that if Barack Obama is elected President, we can expect a serious, "generated" provocation against the United States within six months, because of his youth and perceived inexperience. Now people are trying to spin it that he said any new President will be tested. But if you read closely, he clearly said--before getting caught and revising himself--this will happen only if Mr. Obama is elected, comparing Obama to John Kennedy and back during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the Soviets tested him due to age and inexperience. This "generated crisis", this test, could come from Iran. It could come from al-Qaeda. It could come from Russia. It could come from North Korea. From wherever. It could come from more than one of them. The fact is, sitting from my perspective here in Japan, I do not dismiss this as pessimism or paranoia - Senator Biden must know something I do not know. He even buttressed his dire prediction several times by saying "mark...my....words".

If you have not made up your mind regarding this 2008 Presidential election, I ask you and I plead you to a) vote next month; and b) take this threat seriously to heart. You may have many other reasons to vote the way you will. Economy, pensions, job loss, taxes, whatever - I am sure they are all legitimate. For example, everyone is on edge over the economy.

But would you do me one favor and at least think of this situation out here for me? And for the over 47,000 of our American troops stationed in Japan (and 48,000 of our American private citizens like me also over here--not to mention the Japanese people themselves) whom are currently targeted by North Korea's irrational and aggressive leadership which could in fact make any kind of Cuban Missile Crisis- style miscalculation to test an untested Senator-turned-President? I just have read a chilling Japanese news analysis article by Yoshihisa Komori this past weekend which shows clearly that Kim Jong-il and his successors strongly prefer Obama to be elected over McCain. With one, they think they can get away with something; and with the other one, they have respect for his having endured and overcome torture in Asia (something they themselves are experts in) and his overall military grasp, policies and professional staff.

Consider also, if you would, the broader implications to the United States and the free world should such an attack occur. The economic destiny of America and Japan are interwoven to such a degree that a devastating attack on Japan could have shock-waves that we cannot begin to comprehend. This is a National Security issue every bit if not more serious than if Great Britain were to be threatened with mass destruction.

If this e-mail has convinced you that a vote for Obama could invite the most serious consequences and in fact WILL INVITE A "TEST" OF HIM--just as Sen. Biden predicts, please act and also please forward this message to three other family or friends whom you have heard in the last few days might be still "undecided". Don't just do it for me, do it for your country. I and many thousands of Americans here in Japan will thank you - for sure.

I hope next Christmas/Holiday season I will be able to write you a little more upbeat of a letter, but right now, these are the facts and this is how things stand out here in Asia.

Overseas, Stationed in Japan