When I first started working on the question of Okinawa reversion in the U.S. Department of Defense in 1966 I asked a senior naval officer to describe for me the American military bases on Okinawa.He replied that there were no military bases on the island. He explained: "Okinawa is a military base." He and his colleagues meant that literally.Okinawa had been under U.S. military rule for a long time after the end of World War II. During that period, the entire island of Okinawa was treated as a single military base.The commander of the base was in charge of all activities on the island of bo…READ FULL ARTICLE
