U.S.-Japan-China Relations: With The Pentagon Making Policy, Caroline Kennedy's Confirmation Is Irrelevant -- Stephen Harner, Forbes
The office of U.S. ambassador to Japan is currently vacant, and will remain so until Thursday, when the U.S. Senate will confirm President Obama’s nominee, Caroline Kennedy, following a perfunctory hearing. Perfunctory or not, I will try to tune into the hearing–to be carried live–as I am sure thousands of others will, both in the U.S. and in Japan,
The sad truth, however, is that in U.S.-Japan relations the U.S. ambassador in Tokyo hardly matters. The same applies to the State Department. U.S. relations with Japan, and indeed with the Asian region as a whole, not excluding China, seem to be firmly in the hands of the Pentagon, with all other U.S. government agencies simply bit players and valets for Department of Defense (DoD) officials.
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My Comment: It is easy to blame the Pentagon for driving foreign policy in Asia .... but they are actually taking orders and direction from the White House .... specifically from the office of the President of the United States.
