(2011-07-14) If the United States ends up backing away from the troop realignment plan, there are two ways to look at it, said Denny Roy, a Honolulu-based expert on Asia military affairs at the East-West Center, a congressionally established think tank.
In a "superficial" sense, one could argue that the United States is not following through on its treaty, Roy said, but the issue just isn't that simple.
Considering the political roadblocks in Okinawa, and the hefty cost of Japan's tsunami recovery effort, it is likely this ally nation would actually welcome a troop relocation delay, Roy said.
"The U.S. political system allowing for reconsideration of the agreement, at least partly on the bases of new political and economic circumstance ... its partner government has to work in, ... doesn't make the U.S. look like a welcher, but in fact a more desirable partner in that respect," Roy said.
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