Akahata editorial

In his State of the Union address to frame basic policies for his second-term, U.S. President George W. Bush stated, 'We are working closely with the governments in Asia to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions.' On foreign policy, he mostly took up the Iraq and Middle East questions in addition to North Korea. It is logical for him to resolve the question of North Korea's nuclear program through multilateral talks. He also asserted that the Iraq War was necessary for freedom in Iraq. saying, '[The] victory of freedom in Iraq ... will make America safer for generations to come,' he said. However, this does not mean that the United States is free to do anything if its aim is 'to make America safer.'

Who is destroying peace?

The Bush administration without a United Nations Security Council resolution invaded Iraq on the pretext that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction and that the Hussein regime was linked to the international terrorist group Al-Qaeda. U.N. as well as U.S investigations have proven that these were groundless allegations. It is beyond dispute that the Iraq War is a war of aggression. This is why it has come under widespread criticism in the United States and the rest of the world.

In fact, Bush did not refer to the cause of the Iraq War in the State of the Union address. All he could state is that it is in the interests of the United States. It is most illogical to say that the United States killed many Iraqis and lost U.S. soldiers in this war of aggression and devastated Iraq's land for freedom and liberty. This is the worst way of destroying freedom and cannot be justified with the argument that it was necessary for the freedom of the United States.

If Bush really wants 'liberty' for the Iraqis, he must free Iraq of all foreign occupation forces. The U.S. forces carried out mop-up operations in Fallujah in the spring and autumn of 2004 killing many Sunni Muslim residents, which has increased Iraqi people's anger and resistance.

Iraq's freedom can only be assured when the Iraqi people can determine their own course by themselves without any outside interference. Whether the recent Iraqi National Assembly election based on UNSC resolutions will help recover Iraq's sovereignty will largely depend on when and how the U.S. forces will withdraw from Iraq. The coalition of parties, which claims to have received the largest number of votes, is calling on the multinational forces to draw up a timetable for their withdrawal.

Stating, 'We will not set an artificial timetable for leaving Iraq,' President Bush declined to show a road map for withdrawal. He just stated that U.S. forces 'will return home with the honor' when the Iraqis may become able to defend Iraq by themselves. If he says that 'the United States has no right, no desire, and no intention to impose our form of government on anyone else,' he must prove this by taking action.

Don't delay Iraq's sovereignty

The LDP-Komei coalition government under Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro is still supporting the U.S. war of aggression against Iraq by fully accepting its false alarm. If the government goes on siding with the U.S., it will clearly show that Japan is opposed to Iraq's freedom.

The continued dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq as part of the U.S.-led multinational force will do harm Iraq's cause to regain its sovereignty. Of the 28 foreign forces remaining in Iraq, Dutch troop will leave from Samawah to be replaced by British troops. As the British forces that once ruled this region faced bitter resistance, the residents' resentment of the SDF will grow if they regard the SDF as a British ally.

It's high time for Japan to change its Iraq policy and withdraw the SDF from Iraq immediately.