MCA Buyout by Japanese

I found the Nov. 27 front page ironic, if not galling. It was announced the big five in the U.N. Security Council had agreed to give Iraq a deadline for pulling out of Kuwait. Now, the United States has the green light it’s wanted to wage war on Iraq. Ironically, and gallingly, it was also announced on that same front page that Japan’s Matsushita Corp. was going to acquire MCA for $6.5 billion. My question is, whose interests are we really protecting by sending 500,000 troops and virtually our entire Navy to battle Saddam Hussein? How much is Japan Inc., which gets most of its oil from the Middle East, paying for the privilege of buying up the U.S.?

When are our “leaders” going to demand a quid pro quo? At a time when we have a federal budget that is hemorrhaging badly, can we afford to pay out millions daily to sustain a war machine in the Middle East so countries like Japan can have unfettered access to our industries? Who’s running the asylum here?

It seems to me if Japan is going to buy up this country, the least it can do is pay for the defense of that privilege.

RICHARD ESPY, Paramount