Jesus Christ! An 8.9 Earthquake struck near Japan, 10m Tsunami followed

[Animeniax]

I make no attempt to hide my distaste for Obama as well as others who just talk and never act.

Yes there are lots of troops stationed at Japan and always have been. That doesn't mean they have contributed a great deal. Up until now, the Japanese have been pretty much left to their own devices. The US isn't supposed to be a just a friendly nation offering *some* help when it comes to Japan. Under treaty, they are supposed to be the most active participant in averting this crisis.

If its not the US, I hope the European nations do a bit more. Although it will take a bit longer for adequate support to get there all the way from Europe. Either ways, Japan really could use alot more help.

I see your from Canadia so I'll forgive you for not knowing how things work in the US of A. Obama is not a dictator-like PM like you have up there. He made promises yes, and has delivered on some of them (during the lame duck session in Congress no less). But he's fighting a resurgent GOP, in-fighting in his own party, impatient and short-sighted yahoos among voters who want instant answers and results, all while trying to fix the problems created by his predecessors but placed on his shoulders to resolve.

And the US troops stationed in Japan are helping out with humanitarian relief and search and rescue. I've always been an opponent of US bases and troops in Japan. But for this one type of disaster I'm very happy to eat my words and thank the gaijin soldiers for helping.

As others have said, Japan is an independent nation. They refuse help, if just for the foolish need to save face and appear ready and able to the rest of the world.

[Ryllharu]

I see your from Canadia so I'll forgive you for not knowing how things work in the US of A. Obama is not a dictator-like PM like you have up there. He made promises yes, and has delivered on some of them (during the lame duck session in Congress no less). But he's fighting a resurgent GOP, in-fighting in his own party, impatient and short-sighted yahoos among voters who want instant answers and results, all while trying to fix the problems created by his predecessors but placed on his shoulders to resolve.

Off-topic, but I can't let this one stand.

If by, "not a dictator-like PM," you mean horribly indecisive leader, then yes, I agree (see Gulf oil crisis where he only got involved after people started questioning why there had not been any government action, his current lack of decision on Libya, his previous waffling over Egypt, and refusing to make a firm stand on Guantanamo Bay until last week...which turned out to be the opposite of his campaign promise).

If by, "all while trying to fix the problems created by his predecessors but placed on his shoulders to resolve," you meant throughly expanding nearly every provision created by the PATRIOT Act, expanding warrant-less wiretapping, expanding the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security while requiring less oversight than ever, refusing countless FOIA requests (denying the Birther's pointless garbage requests is justified however) while trumpeting that his administration would be one of the most transparent, then yes, I agree to that one too.

Let's not mention his condemning of the Supreme Court decision to allow corporations to contribute unlimited funds to campaigns...and then vowing his re-election campaign will seek to raise $1 Billion dollars.

Yeah...what a spectacular leader. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Oh wait, this one is more happy to invite college basketball teams to the White House or talk to the media about his NCAA bracket than make actual decisions.


Though I can't say Japan is doing all that much better at finding a useful leader right now.

[Animeniax]

Like I said, he isn't one man alone to make decisions and carry them out on the force of his will regardless of what anyone else wants. He has his platform and his agenda, but he has to compromise with his own party and with the Republicans. Add to that the economy, continuing war in Iraq/Afghanistan, strife and unrest in some parts of the world, humanitarian and disaster relief in other parts, and you wonder why he seems to waffle on some issues?

[Splash!]

I see your from Canadia so I'll forgive you for not knowing how things work in the US of A. Obama is not a dictator-like PM like you have up there. He made promises yes, and has delivered on some of them (during the lame duck session in Congress no less). But he's fighting a resurgent GOP, in-fighting in his own party, impatient and short-sighted yahoos among voters who want instant answers and results, all while trying to fix the problems created by his predecessors but placed on his shoulders to resolve.

I am not so delusional to think that Canadian governance is in any way more decisive than that of the United States. That being said, I dont see how that has anything to do with Obama. I don't need to have a deep understanding of how things work in the US to realize when someone is full of it. Obama is very eloquent speaker who can argue his way out of a situation, but he definitely isn't a man of action. All he does is make excuses about things are complicated and how there are too many obstacles to get anything done.

Japan may be an independent country but unfortunately, dealing with a disaster relief situation like this is one of those cases where it really does pay to have military power (which Japan never heavily invested in). Japan's solution to their lack of defense spending is to sign a treaty with the US to make them their protectors. This is the cause of America's large military presence in the area.

What is needed to effectively delegate relief is an abundance of military class air, land and sea vehicles. Japan may have initially refused help from other international sources but I do not believe for a second that they would reject US help. As I have already suggested, the two countries share a special relationship when it comes to matters of defense and disaster relief. I was entirely expecting the US jump in within the early hours of incident taking place.

Although I must admit, I have heard alot more about the US military actively stepping in within the last few days, even sending in UAV's to closely monitor the situation of the nuclear reactors.

[Animeniax]

I am not so delusional to think that Canadian governance is in any way more decisive than that of the United States. That being said, I dont see how that has anything to do with Obama. I don't need to have a deep understanding of how things work in the US to realize when someone is full of it. Obama is very eloquent speaker who can argue his way out of a situation, but he definitely isn't a man of action. All he does is make excuses about things are complicated and how there are too many obstacles to get anything done.

Japan may be an independent country but unfortunately, dealing with a disaster relief situation like this is one of those cases where it really does pay to have military power (which Japan never heavily invested in). Japan's solution to their lack of defense spending is to sign a treaty with the US to make them their protectors. This is the cause of America's large military presence in the area.

What is needed to effectively delegate relief is an abundance of military class air, land and sea vehicles. Japan may have initially refused help from other international sources but I do not believe for a second that they would reject US help. As I have already suggested, the two countries share a special relationship when it comes to matters of defense and disaster relief. I was entirely expecting the US jump in within the early hours of incident taking place.

Although I must admit, I have heard alot more about the US military actively stepping in within the last few days, even sending in UAV's to closely monitor the situation of the nuclear reactors.

I'm not some big supporter of Obama's, but I think the criticism given is a bit much. He is young and idealistic and made some promises, but he is a politician and they tend to do that to get votes from the fickle voters. But there are indeed a lot of obstacles at every turn. Look at his healthcare bill. The Republicans are still wasting time trying to defeat it even after it's been passed. He accomplished a few of his campaign promises, but there's still work to be done. Now that he has to fight a Republican congress, I guess people will still blame him for doing nothing for the next 2 years.

Sorry but you don't seem to know what you are talking about in regards to Japan. As part of the treaty they signed to end WWII, they gave up the right to have a military. So now they have a defense force that numbers around 235,000. They do maintain a protective alliance with the US, but that's more because they want a relationship with the US, and the US wants to maintain its presence in Southeast Asia. They also invest heavily in technology, some of which is used by their military.

The US couldn't jump in during the early hours because it takes time to mobilize and what with the aftershocks and tsunami, what did you expect them to do exactly? Military power can't stop a tsunami.