iraq

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One year after transfer of sovereignty, Iraqis are still suffering
Akahata editorial

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq, U.S. President George W. Bush said that the U.S. will continue to deploy U.S. forces in Iraq, while admitting that activities in Iraq are difficult and dangerous.

One year ago, sovereignty was transferred to Iraq's interim government, and the transition government was formed through experiencing difficulties, following an interim national assembly election last January. However, the situation remains generally unchanged and the U.S. forces of about 140,000, almost the same size as that a year ago, are engaging in mopping-up operations. The whole of Iraq is at war, including Samawah which the Japanese government describes as a non-combat zone but where the Japanese Self Defense Forces vehicles have been attacked by bombs. The suffering of the Iraqi people continues with worsened public order and living conditions.

Occupation is continuation of war of aggression

Using the false pretext that the Hussein government had weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the U.S. Bush administration attacked Iraq. Even after it became clear that there were no WMDs in Iraq, the U.S. pushed ahead with the war. The United States has encountered strong criticism both in Iraq and internationally because their war is an unjustifiable war of aggression.

Behind the moves resisting the U.S. military occupation and control lies the Iraqi people's strong repulsion of the aggressor, the United States. Most Sunni residents were barred from voting in the January election, and they were the main targets of a virtual massacre in the mopping-up operations by the U.S. forces in Fallujah. Almost all members of the provisional parliament are Shiites or Kurds. One-third of these parliamentary members have demanded that Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari make clear the timetable of withdrawal of the foreign troops.

Bush has stated that terrorists in and out of Iraq have failed to incite a civil war in Iraq. However, all people opposing the U.S. occupation of Iraq are not "terrorists." It must be noted that it is the U.S. forces that threw Iraq into war and gave the incentive for "terrorists" to enter into Iraq.

If Bush mentions the danger of a civil war in Iraq, he should be fully aware of Iraq's reality in which the mopping-out operations by the Iraqi Security Forces, alongside with U.S. forces, are increasing the cracks in Iraqi society. The Iraqi Security Forces have more than 160,000 personnel, including those in police, army, border guards, site protection, and the civil defense corps, according to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. Most of them are composed of the leading Shiites' Islamic Party and the Kurdish militia. Some of them are advocating that the Sunnites be liquidated, which alarms the Sunnites.

Iraq's Prime Minister Ayad Allawi stated, "Injustice must be overcome with justice, lies with truth, revenge with forgiveness, hatred with love," while expressing his thanks to Bush in the talks ahead of the first anniversary of the "transition of Iraq's sovereignty."

Recovering Iraq's sovereignty can only be accomplished by the Iraqi people themselves. However, in Iraq, U.S. military personnel are shooting at random, dividing the Iraqi people, and supplying one party with military aid and attacking the other. So long as Iraq is placed under such a situation, Iraq's sovereignty can hardly be ensured.

Foreign troops must withdraw from Iraq

Iraq's sovereignty must be ensured before drafting a new constitution, with increased members from the Sunnites to then establish a legitimate government. Efforts must be exerted to nip the "civil war" in the bud, and a definite schedule of withdrawing all the U.S.-led occupation forces from Iraq must be announced. Following the U.S. president's statement that there will be no time limit in its withdrawal from Iraq, a resolution submitted to the U.S. Congress calls on Bush to show a timetable toward its final withdrawal.

The need now is for the Japanese government to withdraw the Self-Defense Forces from Iraq, and accelerate activities in support of Iraq's rehabilitation based on the pacifist principles of the Constitution. -- Akahata, July 1, 2005