Why can't Japan say 'No' to U.S. war on Iraq? -- Akahata editorial, August 18U.S. President George Bush is threatening to strike Iraq.
He also admits that he is directly involved in planning U.S. operations to overthrow the Saddam Hussein regime of Iraq.
Emphasizing that "defending the United States requires prevention and sometimes preemption," the 2002 U.S. Defense Report states, "The only defense against is to take the war to the enemy," thus confirming that the U.S. has a first strike strategy that includes the possible use of nuclear weapons. Supposedly, this assertion was made in relation to strikes against Iraq.
The international community is severely critical of the U.S. Bush administration's dangerous scheme.
Most countries are in opposition to Bush war plan
The U.S. strike plan against Iraq has been repeatedly referred to by top U.S. officials since President Bush in his State of the Union address in January labeled Iraq as part of an "axis of evil."
The United States tries to justify the preemptive strike strategy under the pretext of the need to counter terrorism. Even though the Bush administration has been unable to give evidence of Iraq's support for terrorists, the defense secretary has stated that preemptive strikes are possible even without such evidences.
With media reporting on a U.S. plan to attack Iraq or preparations for such actions, every Bush administration move is drawing international attention and arousing concerns.
Their war plan that defies the United Nations Charter would give the U.S. administration freedom to use military force and imperil the international peace. This is why the international community is so critical of this.
The criticism is spreading all over the world, including to U.S. allies in Europe. The Bush administration is increasingly isolated.
The German chancellor has expressed his willingness to take every possible means to avert U.S. strikes against Iraq.
A former British army chief of staff warned that British participation in the planned strikes will run the risk of becoming involved in major Middle East turmoil. Isolated in the face of public opposition, the British prime minister, who has stated that Britain is bent on participating in the strikes, has reportedly admitted his concern.
It is serious in this regard that Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro has expressed readiness to cooperate with U.S. strikes against Iraq by stating that he understands the U.S. preemptive strike strategy as one of U.S. options.
Prime Minister Koizumi's support for the U.S. plan to strike Iraq is extraordinary. Even former Prime Ministers Miyazawa Ki'ichi and Nakasone Yasuhiro called the U.S. war plan into question, saying, "Isn't the United States only aiming at overthrowing the Saddam Hussein regime?" However, Koizumi is still unable to say, "No."
U.S. President Bush has promised to have close consultations with Japan before launching attacks on Iraq. The Koizumi Cabinet, which doesn't have the slightest idea of making efforts to prevent U.S. strikes, is only concerned for how best Japan can cooperate with the United States.
The government and the ruling parties are already discussing ways to allow a Self-Defense Forces unit, which is currently taking part in the U.S. attack on Afghanistan under the Special Antiterrorism Measures Law to be redeployed to cooperate with U.S. forces in striking Iraq.
Reportedly, the Koizumi Cabinet is considering that refueling in the sea from an SDF ship to U.S. war ships should be continued after the U.S. opens fire on Iraq. Foreign Minister Kawaguchi Yoriko hasn't denied the report.
These facts show the danger that the Koizumi Cabinet is escalating its cooperation with the U.S. from the U.S. retaliatory war against Afghanistan to strikes against Iraq.
Japan, together with the U.S., is choosing a way toward isolation in the international community.
U.S. arbitrary action will be thwarted
The world in the 21st century is not a place where the U.S. can carry out any arbitrary actions unchecked.
Japan has the world's first constitution to renounce war and possession of military force, based on its acceptance of the mistake of carrying out its war of aggression. This makes it natural that Japan oppose the U.S. preemptive strike strategy and planned attack on Iraq, which will involve not only the Middle East but the rest of the world in the war.
Let's join hands with the world's peoples wishing for peace to raise our voices against the upcoming U.S. war against Iraq and pressure the Koizumi Cabinet into ending its submission to U.S. policy. (end)