Japan? Seriously?

Bush seriously wants to compare the post-war occupation of Japan and its transformation into a Western nation with what's going on in Iraq? That is bizarre, even for this administration. Talking about Shinto and freedom of religion - people in Japan in the late 40s weren't split into violently warring sects and ethnicities. Nor was there an insurgency. They actually had started the war and were soundly, decisively beaten after a long war that left most of the population glad the fighting was over - and there was no fighting in Japan proper, beyond the bombs that stopped the whole war, no street-to-street fighting, no attacks on American troops. The Emperor was left on the throne. The country was rebuilt, not left to fall apart...

Pretending that the occupation of Japan is a template for Iraq is ludicrous.