MIM Notes 229                   March 1, 2001

Amerikan submarine carelessly sinks Japanese fishing boat

MIM mourns for the men and students killed when the Amerikan 
submarine Greenville rammed and sunk the Japanese fishing trawler 
Ehime Maru. They were:(1)

* Toshiya Sakashima, 17;
* Yusuke Terata, 17;
* Katsuya Nomoto, 17;
* Takeshi Mizuguchi, 17;
* Hiroshi Makizawa, 37;
* Jun Nakata, 33;
* Toshimichi Furuya, 47;
* Hiroshi Nishida, 49; and
* Hirotaka Segawa, 60.

The Amerikan military's arrogance and callous disregard for humyn 
life stole these men and boys away from their families, friends, 
and community.

The Amerikan government has been slow to reveal information on the 
crash, but several things are now clear.

1. The Greenville did not use "active" sonar to scan for surface 
vessels before performing the emergency surfacing maneuver which 
led to the collision. After reviewing a similar incident, the 
National Transportation Safety Board recommended that subs always 
use "active" sonar when surfacing in waters with heavy commercial 
and recreational traffic, such as those where the accident 
happened. The Navy refused to follow this recommendation, however, 
saying that it compromised security. "Active" sonar can give away 
the position of a submarine.(2)

2. Civilians were at essential control positions before and during 
the crash. Amerikan government sources admitted that the civilians 
may have distracted the Greenville's crew and contributed to the 
accident.

The Navy gives politicians and businesspeople joyrides on aircraft 
carriers, submarines, and other ships in order to secure their 
political and financial support. One naval officer admitted that 
the idea was to give these VIPs a wild ride -- never mind a few 
extra risks. "You always brief [that] safety is paramount, but you 
also ramp it up a notch for entertainment's sake."(3)

3. Adding insult to injury, the civilian visit was arranged by 
retired Admiral Richard C. Macke. When three Amerikan soldiers 
raped a 12-year old Okinawan schoolgirl in 1995, then-active 
Admiral Macke held a press conference and said, "for the price 
they paid to rent the car, they could have had a girl." Macke's 
comments rightly infuriated Japanese public opinion.

4. After colliding with the Ehime Maru, the Greenville did nothing 
to help the shipwrecked sailors.

Thus, the Greenville and the Amerikan Navy in general acted 
negligently and without regard to the lives on board the Ehime 
Maru. Instinctively, the Amerikan military sought to cover up or 
play down the accident.

This accident is also clearly linked to the parasitic, economic 
aspects of the Amerikan military. The military is the largest 
sector in the Amerikan economy; dozens of monopoly capitalist 
firms depend on military contracts to survive. The PR stunt of 
taking civilians out to play with these expensive and deadly toys 
grew out of the need of the military business to sell itself and 
stay alive. 

Not only does the Amerikan military destroy the lives of men and 
wimmin around the world in combat and unnecessary accidents, it 
wastes massive amounts of social resources which could be used to 
feed, shelter, or clothe people. The Navy spent over $700 million 
in 1997 to maintain its fleet of attack submarines similar to the 
Greenville.(4) That's more than the entire 1993 military budgets 
for Peru, Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaruagua, and Nigeria, and almost 
half of the GDP of many poor African countries.(5)

As long as Amerikan imperialism exists it will insist on riding 
rough-shod over other peoples. It will provoke distrust and anger 
and stoke the flames of war -- even increasing the probability of 
nuclear war. To preserve well-being and longevity for the majority 
of humyns, we must overthrow this rotten system.

Notes:

1. Japan Times, 11 Feb 2001.
2. Washington Post, 12 Feb 2001.
3. Washington Post, 15 Feb 2001.
4. Department of Defense Budget for Fiscal Year 1999, 
http://www.dtic.mil/comptroller/fy1999budget/weaponsb.pdf.
5. Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1996.