...

What about the rape? I understand that rape is often a massive problem in occupied territories due to the preponderance of single, hated soldiers. The US has come close to being kicked out of Japan a couple of times due to rape problems.

Was that ever an issue in Germany and how did the civilian populace deal with it?

I have heard stories about the Russian military doing that a lot, and few stories about American soldiers. I myself can only talk about the 1980s. The only contact I had with the occupying troops was playing baseball with them in their barracks and once a year celebrating the friendship festival. Plus I was born on a hospital built by the occupation, "Benjamin Franklin" it was called.




I have never heard much about it. Lots of German girls got married to American soldiers though.

Cacto,

     Having been stationed in Japan on and off for nearly 18 years, I know of only 3 instances of Rape by members of the military against Japanese civilians. In the cases that I know about (and trust me it is a huge thing) all those involved are currently rotting where they belong in a cell eating fish heads and rice (yes that is what they are fed). In each of those cases the outrage by the members of the Military against those who committed these heinous acts nearly eclipsed that of the Japanese people.

      I think that you have a distorted idea of what the US presense in Japan is, 99.9999% of the time it is a great mutualy bennificial arrangement and there is a tremendious amount of respect and generousity between the US Military and the Japanese people.

Chris

 

Fair enough. It's something I've heard about, but never really been able to verify.

I only really know of military base rape and sex camps from a university course on the ramifications of power projection, and it was an ideologically pure lecturer given to extremes, so thanks for the real deal on the Okinawa situation.

I'm curious now....What is a sex camp?

I was in Okinawa when one of these rapes occurred.  It was perpetrated by some Marines who were not stationed in Japan, but came in for temporary duty.  And as Grog stated, they were punished.

Having traveled quite a bit with the military (all over Asia especially) I can say rape cases are few and far between.  In fact, what is most shocking to me, is the extent the locals go to provide sex to American GI's, at a "rock bottom" price of course. 

Are there any American military installations over seas without a brothel or two right outside the gate? 

I don't know.  I've never seen one.

 

I dont know what to say leauki !!!!

Really .... what happens to "give me liberty or give me death"?

I dont know about you or anyone else for that matter ... If it was me and my country, God forbid, was occupied i will throw death itself at them if i could.

we did that to the British ... ever heard that?

may be you chose not to do it, but the overwhelming majority of any pobulation in any country at any time in history did as we did ... they fought their occupiers ... and they got their liberty and independence...

life is not worth living without liberty leauki ....

This:

It's just the fancy way of talking about it so that it fits in nicely with the refugee camp theme of the course. Basically the classes on sex, rape and military camps focused on the role projected power played in encouraging sex slavery and the spread of communicable disease, with the corresponding falllout for the locals and the reputation of the US (who is almost always the projecting power in these circumstances).

It seemed reasonable enough when I studied it, but we've all passed a lot of water since those days and it's interesting to hear the perspective of those who've experienced it.

Wow. Is there any anti-American propaganda you don't believe?

Rape does happen and it's deplorable but I find it amazing that you would single out the US so gratuitiously when its occupational forces have amongst the best reputations in the world.

Also, feel free to back up your assertion with some evidence. US was close to being kicked out of Japan?  Really? That's news. 

The most I've ever heard was an individual rape case in Okanawa a some years ago causing a stir.

One tries.

More seriously, Leauki, what was the worst thing about living in an occupied territory?

haha...ok.  It sounded like a summer camp, with uh, benefits. 

 

Berlin wasn't really occupied after '49. Yah it had a special status until 1990 but after 1971 (Berlinabkommen + Transitabkommen) it belonged de facto to the Federal Republic of Germany.

And the "hostile" country was a country of german people of the who didn't want anything more than to live on the other side of the wall and those were the real occupied ones - not West-Berlin. The Wall was to avoid people getting inside into your area not to keep you out, thats a very big difference.

Its hardly comparable to the situation in Gaza, where the people inside the "occupied" territory are not richer than those outside, where 2 different cultures face each other, where there massive unemployment and is a low education inside which in sum apparently is a good breeding ground for terrorism.

You compare apples and orang-utans here. I have been called out on this forum for comparing things much much similar to each other.

According to your profile you are 31 - the blockade was 1948.

Yes, that's exactly the situation around Gaza, except the Israelis are not German.

 

Yes, that is a big difference. While East-Germany _claimed_ that the wall was supposed to keep fascists _out_ of East-Germany, it was really to keep East-Germans _in_.

Israel's wall is indeed supposed to keep fascists out. And it works.

 

That was my point exactly. But the main difference was simply that _we_, the people of West-Berlin, did _not_ try to exterminate East-Germans (or Russians) and didn't attack East-Germany.

The Russians were well-prepared for an attack, but we never did.

That's how an occupation can work.

But it required me to learn the three things listed.

 

You were also one people prior to separation, rather than multiple groups who'd been experiencing considerable tension since the turn of the century, which was only exacerbated by the belligerence of Arab neighbours and the laziness of the British Empire.

Big One,

First, you make it seem like it was Israel's fault some how that the PA are so poor. How is it solely their fault?  Just so you know the WALL was not always there.  I know that may come to shock to you as well.  Also Gaza was some very good land.  When the Israelies handed Gaza to the PA, it was still irrigation in there and it was a prime place for grapes, olives, and farm land.  Now, its been totally rav up, before even all the fighting.

Second, is it the U.S's fault that Mexico is very very poor and now could become an extreme problem to the U.S's secruity?

Granted, I will say that both the U.S. and Israel could have done some more. At the same time the other side needs to be willing to TRY TO MAKE AN EFFORT.  Why does everyone always put the whole load on Israel to aid the PA? As in that they should be the ones completely helping that PA and that they should be the ones taking care of them. 

When I lived over there, NONE of the Arab countries EVER assisted the PA with humanitarianly.  Yes, they assisted them in other ways, but NEVER humanitarianly.