Jun 13, 2004
Japan and Iraqi Post-War Elections: Why the Difference?
Defenders of our slow motion occupation of Iraq say that one of the reasons our troops have to stay there is that free elections have not been held. Interestingly, many of these same individuals also tout the American"nation building" strategy used in post-war Japan as their model.
They often neglect to point out, however, that elections for the Japanese Diet were held in April 1946, only eight months after Hiroshima! Yet, such elections will not be held in Iraq until next year. Why the difference? Defenders of the occupation claim that it is purely a matter of logistics but Juan Cole makes a strong case that all-Iraq elections were entirely feasible in 2003.