Stop the lawless Iraq War and end support for it

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Stop the lawless Iraq War and end support for it

Akahata editorial

Five years have passed since the U.S. Bush administration invaded Iraq with the Japanese government’s support.

The U.S. Bush administration justified the invasion by alleging that the former Saddam Hussein regime had weapons of mass destruction and that the Iraqi regime at the time had connections with Al Qaeda, but these allegations have been proven to be false.

It is clear that Japan’s unconditional support for President Bush’s assertions was wrong. The need now is to end the war. The Japanese government must stop assisting in the lawless war. That is the way to help to end the war.

Japanese government must be held responsible for helping to prolong the war

The Iraq War is a war of aggression the U.S. Bush administration started in violation of the U.N. Charter, in defiance of opposition expressed by the majority of the international community. It is natural that the many countries that opposed starting the war are still opposing it.

Then Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichiro in his mail magazine repeatedly denounced Iraq for “possessing weapons of mass destruction.” The ruling Komei Party secretary general, Fuyushiba Tetsuzo, also stressed, “You cannot deny the allegation (about weapons of mass destruction).” However, even U.S. inspectors said no weapons of mass destruction had been discovered. Now that everyone knows that the United States lied all along, the U.S. must end the Iraq War immediately.

The U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq undermines the quest for a peaceful world order under the U.N. Charter. Japan’s support for the war contradicts the U.N. Charter’s idea of working together to create a world without war.

U.S. indiscriminate attacks on Iraq using strategic bombers continue. Although the Japanese government is trying to justify the dispatch of the Air Self-Defense Force by explaining that it is also involved in the transportation of U.N. staff, 80 percent of the JASDF mission is devoted to transporting personnel and supplies for the “coalition” forces.

JASDF activities that assist the U.S. indiscriminate attacks in Iraq are in violation of international humanitarian law. They also contradict the stated government view that any activities that are part of military actions are unconstitutional and contravene the Special Measures Law on Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance precluding SDF activities in combat zones.

The fact that ASDF aircraft are required to land in Baghdad using flares for the purpose of avoiding attacks is proof that Baghdad is a combat zone.

As many as 160,000 U.S. troops are still deployed in Iraq. Some say the security situation has improved in the country. That is because U.S. forces are in control of the situation by force in certain areas. The fact is that the restoration of public security and social reconstruction are not in sight. As long as foreign troops are stationed there, peace will not be achieved in Iraq.

In the Iraq War, more than one million people are said to have been killed, and about 5 million Iraqis have become refugees. Japan must stop assisting in the lawless U.S. war.

Join March 20 rally to end the war

The U.S. Bush administration has been driven into a corner as calls for U.S. forces to be withdrawn from Iraq represent the opinion of the majority in the United States as well as the rest of the world. It is untenable to assert that the Japan-U.S. alliance is absolute. However, Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo has requested the Bush administration to continue the war by stating, “I understand and support” the U.S. position. How servile Fukuda is! No leader in the world takes such a servile attitude that will only help deepen Japan’s isolation in the international community.

It is time for the Japanese government to urge the U.S. to pull its troops out of Iraq without delay and order the withdrawal of the Self-Defense Force units from Iraq.

Activities calling for an end to the lawless war are to take place throughout the world on March 20. We call for the success of the March 20 rally with the slogan “Stop the lawless war now! Pull the Self-Defense Force units out of Iraq! Stop the enactment of a permanent law to dispatch SDF abroad!”

- Akahata, March 19, 2008