*
Today is the 18th anniversary of the outbreak of
the GUlf War.
On the anniversary of this rather forgotten war
after the war of Iraq, I send you a part of a
thought-provoking article about the role of censor
in war, which is a memoir by a Japanese critic and
a historian.
It is a part of a memoir by late Mr.ETOH Jun, who was
a critic of modern Japanese literature and politics.
He was known for his unique research about the censorship
by the US Occupation in occupied Japan----He researched
extensively about the influence of American censorship in
occupied Japan on poetwar Japanese culture and politics.
With such unique viewpoint about the history of censorship
in Japan and the US, he reviewd the Gulf War from his proper
viewpoint on the role of censorship in war, right after the
Gulf War in 1991.
Following is a part of an article by a Japanese critic
who by chance heard an ex-official of the US government,
Dean Rusk, state his view on the role of censorship in
American wars.
You are urged to read this and think about the role of
censorship in American history.----America was not an
exceptinal state in its history of censorship.
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(Memoir by late ETOH Jun)
Some may have recalled that there is censor in our world
during the Gulf War this year. Not a few young generation,
on the other hand, might have learnt that there is censor in
our world for the first time. Both the multinational(US) Army
and the Iraqis implemented very utter censor. As the result,
to our mystery, we are unaware exactly how many Iraqis this
war claimed. According to a certain faierly reliable source,
the war may have claimed 300 thousands Iraqi soldiers in Kuwait only.
On the other hand, the American casualities, which is supposed to be
hundreds officially, is uncertain, to tell the truth. Censor created such
image of clean war in which we cannot see the images of the dead.
The released images by the multinational Army, which we saw on
television, were made under the American control.
Seeing those images made by US, I was convinced that the US is doing
the war very seriously.
My memory is back to 11 years ago. In the spring of 1980, I was in America.
I was in America as a research fellow in the Wilson Center in Washington D.C.
I was sent there by the Japan Foundation to do research about the censor
US Occupation Army had done in Japan during the years US occupied Japan.
By chance, while I was staying there, a symposium on Vietnam War was held.
Neil Sheehan, an American journalist who had campaigned against the war
during the Vietnam War, was one of the research fellows who had been in the
Wilson Center at the time.
In contrast with the Gulf War this year, Vietnam War was a poignant war to
the United States. In addition, since the spring of 1980 was right after rescue
operation of the American hostages in Iran failed, the symposium was held in
the Wilson Center in a very depressing mood.
I must remind you of Dean Rusk here. Dean Rusk, the ex-secretary of the state
during the Vietnam War, had retired many years ago then.
He became a professor at Georgia University in Georgia State, which was his home.
He was invited to the symposium by the Wilson Center and came from Atlanta to
Washington D.C. by airplain to attend the symposium. He was not one of the
panelists nor speaker. I noticed an old man sitting silently in a corner of the floor.
When I noticed the man as being alike Dean Rusk, it was very Dean Rusk.
He was listening the panelers' debate silently.
As I am a foreigner, I was listening what Americans speak enthusiastically about
the Vietnam War silently as well, to learn about the issue.
Then, Mr.Rusk, the ex-secretary of the State, raised his arm at the end of the
symposium. He stated all who were there a very poignant comment.
“I could hear many valuable opinions here. I, however, think that we failed the war.
I guess you all agree to this point”.
The audience were silent. Mr.Rusk continued.
“Why did we fail the war? The reason was because we did not do censor even once
in the Vietnam War. In the past World War Ⅱ, we implemented a very hard censor
and won the war. But we did not do censor in the Vietnam War. As the result,
we could not get supports from the people in our own country. Imagine how the people,
who watch the images of their sons, boyfriends, or husbands, being murdered cruelly
by Vietcongs every day, would respond to our govenment's campaign to continue this war.
There's no reason people would accept it positively.
No government is capable to continue to fight and win the war under such midia
circumstances.”
When Mr.Rusk said as above, the audience were in complete silence. I was most
impressed by the sight Neil Sheehan, who was criticizing the war, did not rufute at all.
He was, on contrary, nodding with a solemn face to Mr.Rusk's words.
(from “A Personal Proposal of abolishing the Constitution 1946” by ETOH Jun:
SAPIO May.9, 1991, p.21
(translated by NISHIOKA Masanori--Note:The remark by Mr.Dean Rusk in this
translation above is my reverse translation from the original Japanese text.
As it is a reverse translation from what late Mr.Etoh recalled and wrote in Japanese,
Mr.Rusk's remark in my reverse translation above must differ from his original remark
there, which he spoke in English.)
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It is dangerous many Americans are unaware that their
country has such history of censorship which was
invisible to the American public.
Jan. 17, 2009(Sat)
On the 18th anniversary of the
outbreak of the Gulf War
Nori
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References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War
(about the Gulf War)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Sheehan
（About Neil Sheehan)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Rusk
(About Dean Rusk)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_Japan
(About the occupation of Japan including censorship by the
US occuapation)
http://www.froginawell.net/japan/2006/03/the-case-of-taiwa-shinron/
(About censorship in occupied Japan: Frog in a well)
http://www.faqs.org/abstracts/Health/Censorship-of-medical-journals-in-occupied-Japan-Censorship-of-the-atomic-bomb-casualty-reports-in-o.html
(About Censorship of medical journals in Japan)
