Is this Self-Defense Forces' loyalty toward U.S. Forces? -- Akahata
editorial, November 29, 2001

Senior U.S. government officials have suggested that the U.S.-led
military strikes may be expanded beyond Afghanistan.

U.S. President George W. Bush has again emphasized that Afghanistan is
only the beginning.

Media have reported that a U.S. government official even went so far as
to name not only Iraq but Somalia , Sudan, and Yemen as possible targets of
U.S. military strikes.

Where has 'anti-terrorism' gone?

Arguing that Al-Qaida has its branches in dozens of countries, U.S. Vice
President Dick Cheney stated that the United States is ready to use force if
it is necessary to do so in order to eliminate the Al-Qaida group.

How far does the U.S. want to escalate the war?

The U.S. Forces have deployed four aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea
for the war on targets in Afghanistan. Such an extraordinary shift in U.S.
military operations is said to be aimed at expanding operations into Iraq.

The U.S. president has hinted at possible strikes against Iraq using the
need for inspections of weapons of mass destruction as the pretext.

Where has the stated U.S. aim of fighting terrorism gone? The
retaliatory war is being changed into an interventionist war.

These U.S. moves toward escalating the war are being criticized by China
and by Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia.

By contrast, Japan's Koizumi Cabinet has taken a decisive step toward
taking part in the war at a time when the U.S. is about to expand the Afghan
war.

Far from criticizing U.S. government officials' calls for escalation, the
Koizumi Cabinet is even attempting to increase its support for the U.S.
Forces.

Defense Agency Director General Nakatani Gen said that the government
will carefully examine the possibility of Self-Defense forces participating
in U.S. air strikes against Iraq. He stated this during the parliamentary
discussion on the proposal for allowing the government to send SDF units
abroad.

To cooperate with the international community in the effort to root out
terrorism was the stated reason for railroading through the SDF dispatch law
in the Diet.

But, the reality is that U.S. air strikes against Afghanistan have caused
many casualties among innocent civilians, and that they have not led to the
arrest of any of the suspects of the September 11 terrorist attacks, nor
have they unraveled the international network of terrorist organizations.

On the contrary, the U.S.-led Afghan war only helped to add fuel to
terrorists' maneuvers. If bin Laden is arrested or killed, it will not be
conducive to the elimination of terrorism.

Now that the U.S. has thrown away its initial aim of eliminating
terrorism and is calling for escalation for this or that reason, the Koizumi
Cabinet has lost all pretexts for taking part in the U.S.-led war.

Nevertheless, the Koizumi Cabinet will not stop supporting the U.S.
Forces in the Indian Ocean because it has completely given up any attempt to
make an independent judgment, giving the highest priority to following the
lead of the United States.

Japan's participation in the U.S.-led war will be increasingly dangerous
as the U.S. Forces expand their fronts.

Stop taking part in the war

For the first time since the end of the Second World War Japan has
dispatched SDF units to combat zones involving U.S. forces. They will
engage in fuel supply and transportation of U.S. soldiers. How can Japan be
allowed to do this?

In order to prevent Japan from being involved in the quagmire in which
U.S. forces will be bogged down, Japan must immediately stop taking part in
the on-going retaliatory war. (end)