Text 11090, 103 rader
Skriven 2008-02-15 06:31:40 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
  Kommentar till text 11087 av Roy Witt (1:397/22)
Ärende: Re: Shootings in USA
============================
RW>WD> Are you referring to the new case in Okinawa where a 38 yr old
RW> Marine
 
RW> That would be a 19yo...
 
Not according to Reuters and AP.
 
RW>WD> raped a 14yr old Japanese girl
 
RW> He didn't rape her. ...
 
Not according to Reuters and AP.
 
RW> This one was a high-school girl, which means she was over 15yo. Probably
RW> one of those selling herself as a prostitute on the streets there. Else
RW> the Marine wouldn't have even known her.
 
According to Reuters and AP she is 14 years and whatever comes after grade
school in most of the world is defined by the same word in English as "high
school", just so you know.  In all the articles I saw on this new case, the
arrest occurred Monday Feb.11th 2008, not 3-4 years ago and she _is_ 14.
 
Amazing BTW that you would condone having sex with a 14yr old if she can be
classified as a hooker. Is that how it goes where you live? Maybe Blom didn't
express himself quite well.
 
Anyway, here's the appended text from Reuters ... these probably are events not
reported on Fox, the primary news service used by American forces.
 
Enjoy,
 
 \%/@rd
 
******************************************************************
Angry Okinawa wants smaller U.S. military presence By Linda Sieg 
Thu Feb 14, 7:21 AM ET
 
 
 
TOKYO (Reuters) - Angry lawmakers on Japan's southern island of Okinawa 
called for progress on shrinking the U.S. military presence and tighter 
discipline among U.S. troops after the arrest of a Marine on suspicion 
of raping a schoolgirl. 
 
The 38-year-old Marine, Tyrone Hadnott, based at Camp Courtney on the 
island, was arrested on Monday on suspicion of raping the 14-year-old 
Japanese girl when the two were in a car on Sunday. He has denied 
raping the girl but acknowledged forcing her to kiss him, an Okinawa 
police spokesman said.
 
"Considering the fact that such vicious, atrocious incidents have 
never ceased to occur, we must question the way the U.S. military 
enforces discipline and educates its soldiers," the Okinawa assembly 
said in a resolution protesting the incident.
 
The lawmakers demanded an apology and compensation for the girl and 
her family, steps to prevent similar crimes in the future, and a reduction 
of U.S. forces on the island, reluctant host to the bulk of the nearly 
50,000 U.S. troops in Japan.
 
The top commander of the U.S. forces in Japan told reporters that the 
military had set up a task force to review and strengthen programs to 
prevent sexual harassment and assault.
 
"It is our job to do everything we can to restore the confidence of 
the Japanese people in the U.S. forces stationed here in Japan," 
Lieutenant-General Bruce Wright said.
 
"We are making no excuses and are absolutely committed to preventing 
this from happening again," he added.
 
The incident has triggered memories of the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old 
girl by three U.S. servicemen that ignited huge protests on Okinawa.
 
Tokyo has been trying to persuade residents of Okinawa to accept a plan 
to move the Marines' Futenma air base from the crowded city of Ginowan 
to the coastal city of Nago, part of a broader plan to move about 8,000 
Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
 
Both Tokyo and Washington are keen to keep the incident from affecting 
security ties, and on Thursday, some local assembly members from the 
ruling Liberal Democratic Party expressed hope that the Futenma relocation 
plan would not be affected.
 
"The relocation is a totally different issue," Kyodo news agency quoted 
Tsunehiro Iha, an LDP assembly member, as saying.
 
Iha added that "mounting sentiment against U.S. bases could lead to the 
cancellation of the transfer."
 
The episode has sparked some calls for changes to the agreement governing 
the status of U.S. military personnel in Japan, including the handling of 
criminal cases.
 
But Wright said no such discussions were underway. "Nothing to do with 
SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) is slowing down our comprehensive and 
timely investigation," he said.
 
Many Okinawans resent the bases, though others welcome the boost the U.S. 
military presence provides to the local economy.

--- LIGHTHOUSE-DCD.ORG
 * Origin: Many Glacier -o=O=o- Preserve - Protect - Conserve (2:292/854)