President Bush will take part in a decision on whether the United States will hand over to Japan a U.S. airman suspected in the alleged rape of a young woman on the southern island of Okinawa, Jiji news agency said on Thursday.
A US government source told media persons that Washington appeared to be moving toward a consensus to hand over US air force Staff Sergeant Timothy Woodland, 24. Authorities in Okinawa issued a warrant for his arrest on Monday. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka that the issue -- which has fanned Okinawan residents' smoldering resentment of the US military presence and could fray two-way ties if mishandled -- had been discussed at levels as high as the president and that the United States wanted to cooperate fully, Jiji said.
Bureau Report