Opinion

It comes with the territory

By Scott T. Hards

I have to admire Prime Minister Koizumi. For a while now, he has endured a stream of inane criticism of his plan to send Japan's Self-defense forces to Iraq. But he's held fast.

Criticism has come from both the public, and opposition lawmakers. Frankly, I'ｖe been shocked by the selfishness and short-sightedness of many of the voices that have risen to complain.

"No more war" shout "peace" protesters who oppose the deployment to Iraq. What war? Do they think the SDF is going to shoot Iraqis rather than help supply drinking water, rebuild schools and carry out other aid? One does not promote peace by ignoring a humanitarian need. Well-trained troops are capable of much more than killing people.

"But America's attack was illegal. There are no weapons of mass destruction," claim others. These are the arguments I have the least patience for. What does that have to do at all with Iraq's current humanitarian needs? U.S. President George W. Bush's reasons for removing Saddam

Hussein may have been flawed, but that doesn't change the status quo. Would you refuse to search for surviｖors in earthquake rubble because "the people were stupid for living in dangerously weak houses?"

"Iraq's still a combat zone," argue opposition politicians, like Naoto Kan. I suspect the otherwise well-informed Kan is intentionally confusing organized combat with random terrorism. Nothing happening in Iraq today can be called "combat" or "war." For starters, there's no organized enemy! It's just isolated guerilla actions that hope to score political damage, since they cannot make any great military damage.

"It's still dangerous. We cannot guarantee the troops' safety," say others. Yes, that's true. That's why Japan is sending the SDF and not civilians! They're trained to protect themselves. If concerns about deaths or injuries were reason to delay sending troops, then the next time somebody called the fire department the answer might be "Sorry, burning buildings are dangerous. We'll come after the flames have died down." Soldiers and fire fighters know that their jobs could mean risking their lives. If the soldiers of the SDF are not prepared for that, they should look for other work. Danger comes with the territory.

Some people against sending the SDF to Iraq probably believe they'll help prevent damage to both Iraq and Japan, but in fact, the opposite is true. If Iraq is not quickly rebuilt, it could easily fall into social chaos and become a breeding ground for terrorists. The outbursts of frustration from regular Iraqis now have more to do with power, gasoline and water shortages than with having foreign troops in their country. When these problems are effectively addressed, great things will begin to happen there.

Let's hope that Koizumi will be able to get a larger, more meaningful force in place to contribute to Iraq's reconstruction. Fortunately, he understands that when you're the world's second-largest economy, and you want respect commensurate to that status, shedding a little blood, sweat and tears on behalf of other nations is something that comes with the territory.

Shukan ST: Jan. 16, 2004

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