As the profit margins sink for the Military Industrial Complex a new profit center is developing in Asia. On the tiny Korean Island of Jeju a missile base is being constructed to guard against the Chinese threat. Will China be obliged to aim some missiles at the U.S.? The prospect makes the war mongers on Wall Street giddy. A new threat more ominous than the Soviet Union will emerge. By God there are billions of those yellow bastards and they control our economy. (Racist military speak)
Jeju is a jewel in the China Sea. I have been there. Although it is a tourism spot it does not appear like Western resort islands. Unlike Western resort islands the locals have not been reduced to a starving slave class. This is all about to change as giant cement pylons used for missile bases are being slammed into the coral reefs that for centuries supported divers who fished using only lung power.
People on the island of Okinawa can speak volumes about the benefits of U.S. military occupation. Violence, rape, and racism have plagued them for 50 years but despite overwhelming opposition to their presence the Wall Street goon squad remains. The people of Korea also oppose this destruction of their beautiful island paradise by a 95% margin but the construction continues. Why?
The greatest weapon of Wall Street and the Military Industrial complex is the threat of economic sanctions. These sanctions are not unlike those imposed on Iraq, Iran, and North Korea that are overtly used to starve the people to death. These sanctions are covert actions often taken by State Department employees or operatives who not so subtly suggest changes in trade agreements. Korea would suffer greatly if Hyundai Corporation had restricted access to the U.S. market. Many feel that it was Japan’s insistence that the U.S. military base be closed in Okinawa that led to the sticking gas pedal scam that caused Toyota to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Shortly after this the mayor of Okinawa reversed his position on the U.S. troops stationed there.
The people and the environment of the island of Jeju are going to suffer. The only way for them to avoid this is the rejection of the American model. If Korea told the U.S that they would market their automobiles and techno gadget elsewhere they could save their island. Unfortunately, like Americans they don’t make the connection between this rape of their environment and the consumer lifestyle.