October 13, 2012

Alexis Dudden ICAS Fellow Professor of History University of Connecticut addressed What Washington Can Do for Seoul and Tokyo: "A Little Honesty" ICAS Fall Symposium: Humanity Liberty Peace and Security The Korean Peninsula Issues and US National Security October 11 2012 Thursday 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM Rayburn Office Building Room B 318 United States House of Representatives Captol Hill Washington DC

Dear Friend: We are pleased to share with you that Alexis Dudden addressed "What Washington Can Do for Seoul and Tokyo: 'A Little Honesty'" at the ICAS 2012 Fall Symposium on October 11 2012 in Washington DC. Alexis argues that "... the history problems are security problems and the term 'history problems' captures the contested histories of Japan's empire and wartime actions between 1900-1945 ... it centers now on the region's territorial disputes, the shards of land - tiny islands - left ambiguous in the 1952 San Francisco Treaty" and that Washington's position - "cool heads should prevail" and "the nations involved should work it out amongst themselves" - is "dishonest". She concludes that "Washington must enter the fray as an involved but unafraid party. It is time for a major speech about the United States' role in Asia on a number of fronts; history - American history - must be at its center. We - Americans - have everything to gain by addressing our past in Asia straightforwardly and from the top; we have much to lose by leaving it blank" A full text of her remarks may be found in What Washington Can Do for Seoul and Tokyo: "A Little Honesty". A related piece: "Korea-Japan Standoff: Why Americans Should Care" Remarks of Larry Niksch Thank you.