I think that’s an interesting question, because I wonder what it means. I mean for both sides. Personally, I find it hard to believe that anyone sticks up for either side or either government, given the deep-seated corruption and deceptive manipulation waged by both.

I agree with you (Matt) that the Honda resolution is a deeply flawed, misguided effort. I also think it has been blown out of proportion, especially given that the US State Department, and not the House of Representatives, sets foreign policy.

Yet, I don’t see Garrett’s comment as a red herring; I think it’s important for the lobbyists on both sides to be discussed. The lobbying efforts behind Mike Honda have been discussed to death on blogs I’ve seen, yet very little gets mentioned concerning the Japan lobby and the power it wields. People need to know about both, since neither can be trusted. All information should be available to be weighed - the issue is that very much is kept from us. I won’t pretend I can see the whole picture because I know I’m not meant to; there are too many strings on the marionette.

Lobby powers and PR agencies on both sides are tossing out distraction pieces, since that’s what they are paid to do. If they are red herrings, they are very profitable, very influential ones.

I’m currently working on this issue and will have more to say about it in the future.

Your Hogan & Hartsen comment is more a red herring, than US military’s involvement with the comfort women.

Should not America come clean before it seeks to criticize others?

I didn’t mean to say that the US didn’t use brothels or even had exemplary behavior, but that nothing the US did changes in any way what Japan did. For Hogan & Hartsen (I have a feeling they or one of their colleagues was involved) to toss out such an article at such a fortuitous time is a distraction technique - a red herring.

Matt, I’m flattered. I have an idea - a one-off joint project of sorts. Shoot me an e-mail if you think you might be interested.

It’s been a while since I read Embracing Defeat, but I think I remember reading that the Japanese government began the process that would lead to the creation of brothels for the Americans within days of the surrender. Those particular brothels served the occupation forces for a few months, but as you correctly noted, they were shut down because they were leading to massive outbreaks of syphilis and gonorrhea.