U.S. must admit its error and withdraw from Iraq

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U.S. must admit its error and withdraw from Iraq
Akahata editorial (excerpts)

In a report submitted to the U.S. president and the Congress, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group admitted that in Iraq the situation is "grave and deteriorating" and "there is no path that can guarantee success." The Bush administration's Iraq policy has clearly reached a dead end.

However, while admitting the failure of the U.S. Iraq policy, the report failed to point to the U.S. mistake of waging war on Iraq, the fundamental cause that has brought about the deterioration of Iraq situation.

The Iraq war that the U.S. and British coalition forces preemptively launched under completely false pretexts is a war of aggression trampling on Iraqi sovereignty in violation of the United Nations Charter. The international community has severely criticized this war, and even in the United States a majority of the public has become critical of it.

The U.S. military operations did not stop at the invasion of Iraq. The U.S. occupation forces have repeatedly conducted brutal sweeping operations, incited Shiite military actions targeting Sunnis, and turned Iraq into a hotbed of terrorism. In reviewing the U.S. Iraq policy, these issues also need to be reflected on.

The United States must admit its mistake of invading and occupying Iraq, and must take a step toward a complete withdrawal. At the same time, the U.S. needs to admit its responsibility before the United Nations and the international community and ask for the cooperation of Iraqi people and the international community.

The Iraqi government calls for a continuous stationing of U.S. forces for the moment. However, the overwhelming majority of Iraqis (71 percent in a survey conducted in September) demands a swift withdrawal of all U.S. forces.

The U.S. must withdraw completely and not maintain its bases in Iraq. Only such steps that help the Iraqis restore their sovereignty will make the reconciliation between ethnic groups and between religious sects possible.

Foreign troops are withdrawing one after another, with only 17 U.S. allies troops left in Iraq now. Italy sent the third largest number of troops after Britain, but has already completed a total withdrawal on the grounds that the war was wrong. South Korea is also moving toward a withdrawal of its forces from Iraq.

Notwithstanding this, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is still sticking to supporting the Iraq war. On December 8, the Abe Cabinet decided to continue to dispatch Air-Self Defense Force to Iraq in order to support the unjustifiable U.S. occupation that has caused the devastation in Iraq.

The Japanese government must withdraw the ASDF from Iraq without delay.
- Akahata, December 9, 2006