Foreign Debt: Redux

I came across this table today which lays out foreign ownership of United States Treasury Securities -- essentially how much of the United States is owned, via debt, to outside interests:


Japan 612.3 billion
China, Mainland 420.2 billion
United Kingdom 145.1 billion
Oil Exporters 113.0 billion
Carib Bnkng Ctrs 84.4 billion
Brazil 70.6 billion
Luxembourg 61.6 billion
Hong Kong 58.7 billion
Korea 58.1 billion
Taiwan 57.9 billion
Germany 47.7 billion
Mexico 35.3 billion
Switzerland 32.9 billion
Singapore 29.7 billion
Canada 29.7 billion
Turkey 27.6 billion
Netherlands 21.0 billion
France 20.4 billion
India 20.1 billion
Thailand 17.9 billion
Sweden 15.0 billion
Israel 14.1 billion
Italy 14.0 billion
Poland 12.2 billion
Belgium 12.2 billion
Ireland 11.7 billion
All Other 153.2 billion

The average American, myself included, may be a little unsettled that so much of our country is owned by China and Japan...the average American may also find it a little fishy, myself included, that so much of our country is literally owned by private oil interests and Cayman Island banking centers. These stats were as of March of this year, and considering that the occupation of Iraq has cost us $426 Billion already, paid for mostly with deficit spending, we can only see this debt ceiling increasing. Coupling this with out trade deficit to practically every other country on Earth, it's something to think about, espcially for my young generation, as we move into the future.