War cannot do away with terrorism

"Forget the idea that war can be an effective means of eradicating terrorism," Japanese Communist Party Koizumi Chikashi stressed when he took the floor in the House of Councilors Plenary Session on October 6.

The Upper House was discussing the bill to extend for another 2 years the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law that allows Japan's Self-Defense Forces to assist in the U.S. "war against terrorism".

JCP Koizumi called for "more diplomatic efforts instead of war" to contain terrorism with the backing of international solidarity.

He also used his question time to grill the government about the fact that SDF ships are refueling U.S. battleships engaging in the war in the Indian Ocean in violation of the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law.

Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro gave a completely irrelevant reply, saying, "The fuel Japan provided to U.S. ships is not for the Iraq War, it is only used for anti- terrorism operations by the United States. I believe that this is reasonable."

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The bill to extend the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law was discussed at the Upper House Special Committee following the Upper House plenary session. JCP representative Koizumi asked the government to explain why it believes that the supposed "weapons of mass destruction Iraq possesses will be discovered soon" and why it used "Iraq's WMD" as a pretext to readily support the U.S. war against Iraq.

The prime minister stated, "Iraq was suspected of having weapons of mass destruction."

JCP Koizumi criticized the government for failing to show any evidence and making an excuse by saying, "It was suspected," although it had asserted, "Iraq possesses WMDs." (end)