Cheney Snubs Japanese Defense Minister For Saying Decision To Go Into Iraq Was ‘Wrong’

Last month, Japan’s Defense Minister — Fumio Kyuma — said President Bush made a mistake in deciding to go war against Iraq. “President Bush went to war on the presumption that there might be nuclear weapons,” Kyuma told an audience assembled at the Japan Press Club in Tokyo. “That decision was wrong.”

For speaking with honesty and candidness about the decision to go to war, Kyuma will be treated to an official Vice Presidential snub, courtesy of Dick Cheney. The Japan Times reports:

When U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney comes to Japan this month, he probably won’t be meeting with Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma.

Government sources said Sunday that the United States has asked that no meeting between the two be scheduled, conveying strong displeasure over Kyuma’s recent criticism of the Iraq war and the realignment of U.S. forces.

Japan withdrew its 600 ground troops from Iraq in June after more than two years of service. Cheney’s refusal to meet with Kyuma sends a chilling message to our international allies, telling the world that the Bush administration cannot handle public dissent. The Washington tip sheet The Nelson Report says Cheney’s actions are already having their intended effect:

Fallout from squashing Kyuma from both ends includes this posting, by an ex-pat observer in Tokyo, who asks “can the US have effective alliance relations only with countries which toe the line all the time, and never question White House wisdom? And from that, is a Japan that says ‘Yes, Sir!’ all the time like some kind of robot, what America needs?”