2226: The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, quoting a senior official of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, said the US made the offer immediately after the disaster damaged Fukushima No 1 nuclear plant. According to the unnamed senior official, US support was based on dismantling the troubled reactors run by Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) some 250 km (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo. However, the government and TEPCO thought the cooling system could be restored by themselves, the report said.
(Another source: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_646444.html)
Am I reading this right?
Our government demanded that the Japanese dismantle – that is, permanently remove – over five gigawatts of power in order to help them with a critical safety problem that had the potential to destroy 100 square miles of land and kill or injure thousands of people?
That as compensation for helping them we demanded that they cripple their electrical generating capacity on a permanent basis?
You have to be kidding me.
This is an extremely serious charge. If it’s true it stands alone as grounds for impeachment and dismembering every single federal agency involved.
Perhaps this explains why the US Military and/or civilian authorities didn’t stick a couple of big-ass generators on a transport plane and get them over there, restoring power to the reactors within hours of the incident and avoiding all of the serious radiation and physical damage at the plant.
This allegation is ridiculously incendiary and demands an immediate and complete Congressional investigation. Not only do the citizens of the United States deserve to know the truth (or falsity) of this charge (and who initiated it if it is false), but so do the Japanese people.
If this is how this man treats our friends – attempting to use a crisis threatening the lives of civilians to score a political point and advance his “green” agenda…..
Incidentally there are reports that The State Department has denied the original story from the Japanese paper. I still argue we need answers – real ones – and an immediate Congressional investigation is called for.
