The lessons of the occupation of Iraq will be debated far into the future. One theory is that it was mistake to disband the army and destroy the corrupt Baathist infrastructure which had kept a semblance of peace among the divisive factions, albeit at a huge cost in blood and tyranny. With 20-20 hindsight, we see that an utter lack of any indigenous intact power structure or source of legitimization has had bloody consequences.Things were done differently when America occupied Japan in 1945. The American Occupation of Japan is seen by many as a model of a successful conquest and orderly social revolution from above, imposing democracy by military conquest, and succeeding beyond anyone's wildest dreams in fostering a democratic and prosperous society. Yet even today, the lessons of the Japanese Occupation are fiercely debated. Particularly the question of whether or not the Emperor should have been regarded as a war criminal.Following Japan's defeat, General MacArthur's Occupation made...(Read Full Post)