| CounterPunch's
Scorching New History of a Decade of War
Order Now / Available in April
Today's
Stories
April
13, 2004
Dave
Lindorff
The Real Lessons of Vietnam
April 10
/ 12, 2004
Alexander
Cockburn
The
Greatest Radical Journalist of His Age
Patrick
Cockburn
Ambush, Kidnap, Murder: Another Day in "Post War" Iraq
Ellen Cantarow
Health Under Siege on the West Bank
Tariq Ali
Iraqi
Resistance: a New Phase
Werther
Pseudoconservatism Revisited: When God is Pro War & Other Delicacies
Robert
Fisk
Bush's War Lords to Their Critics: "Just Shut Up"
Gary Leupp
Indian Wars, Vietnam and Orientalist Fantasy
Ron Jacobs
The Iranian Revolution, Cont.
Jorge Mariscal
Perils of the Bootstrap
Phil Gasper
Defying Stereotypes About Death Row
Dave Zirin
Bringing the Black Freedom Struggle Into Sports: an Interview with Lee
Evans
Brandy
Baker
The Revolution is Playing at a Theater Near You
Mickey Z.
Underground Music is Free Media: an Interview with Twiin
Ali Tonak
Get Ready for the Million Worker March
Harry Browne
Asking the Wrong Question About Richard Clarke & 9/11
Gideon
Samet
The Sharonizing of America
Conn Hallinan
Remote Control Warriors
Website
of the Weekend
Taboo
Tunes
April 9,
2004
Robert
Fisk
This
War's Simple Truth: Iraqis Do Not Want Us
John L.
Hess
The
Non-Confessions of a Warrior Princess: Condi on the Stand
Niranjan
Ramakrishnan
Condoleezza's Condescensions
Christopher Brauchli
Holes in the Sky: Bush's Crazed Missile Defense Plan
Don Santina
Forget the Alamo!: Glorifying the Fight for Slavery in Texas
William S. Lind
The 4G Warfare Seminar, Cont.
Bill Christison
9/11
Commission is Bush's New Lapdog
Website of the Day
What We've Done to Fallujah
April 8, 2004
Wayne Madsen
Rice
(and the Record) Proves It: Bush Knew, But Failed to Act
Kurt Nimmo
Will
Bush Flatten Fallajuh?
Patrick
Cockburn
Guided
Missile; Misguided War
Laura Flanders
Steamed
Rice
Larry Everest
What Condi Rice is Hiding
Adam Federman
Sacred Capitalism Hits Russia
M. Junaid
Alam
The Iraqi Intifada Begins
Norman Solomon
The Quest for a Monopoly on Violence
Douglas
Valentine
Echoes
of Vietnam: Phoenix, Assassination and Blowback in Iraq
Website of the Day
Xispas: Chicano Art, Culture and Politics
April 7,
2004
Alexander
Cockburn
Those
Pulitzers!
Sen. Robert
Byrd
Deeper
into the Mouth of Hell: We Must Find the Exit from Iraq
Ron Jacobs
Tet
in Iraq: Closer to the Cosmic Disaster?
Patrick
Cockburn
Battles
Across Iraq: US Death Toll Mounts
Kathy Kelly
Pacification: Worth the Price?
Sonali
Kolhatkar
What Are You Doing About Afghanistan?
Rahul Mahajan
Report from Baghdad: Opening the Gates of Hell
Robert
Fisk
US Airlifts Saddam to Qatar
Mike Whitney
America Out of Iraq, Now!
Sam Hamod
Bush, Pandora's Box and the Tiger
April 6, 2004
C.G. Estabrook
Mercenaries
and Occupiers
William
Blum
The
Anti-Empire Report: the Israel Lobby
Col. Dan
Smith
The
Language of Disbelief: 1.3 Billion Still Live in War Zones
Dr. Bulent Gokay
The Coming Islamic Republic of Iraq?
Lynn Landes
Faking Democracy: Americans Don't Vote; Machines Do
Sheila Samples
What Would Royko Write?
Jason Leopold
Condi's Blind Spot: Rice Never Mentioned al-Qaeda
Mickey Z.
A Reality Show with No End in Sight
Robert
Fisk
Iraq on the Brink of Anarchy
|
April
13, 2004
Japan and Iraq
Koizumi's
Itch Gets Scratched
By REZA FIYOUZAT
The Japanese public has been thrown into an emotionally
higher level of agitation than was expected, in the light of what their
political leaders had painted. They have been sent a rude reminder that
there is indeed a war raging in Iraq; one in which innocent civilians
from all sides can suffer.
The
shock came when Al-Jazeera footage was reported on NHK News, on April
8, indicating that three of their most innocent civilians, an aid worker,
a recent high school graduate and a journalist, had been taken hostage
by a group previously unknown, called Saraya al-Mujahedeen (Mujahedeen
Brigades). The hostage-takers were demanding that the Japanese government
withdraw its Self Defense Forces from Iraq, with the added note that,
“You [the Japanese] used to be our friends. But now you are helping
the invasion armies that are killing us.” The kidnappers gave
the Japanese government three days to announce their withdrawal, or
else they would burn their hostages alive.
The
outrage has been particularly keen. Especially since, during the buildup
to the Japanese dispatch of armed forces to Iraq, whenever Prime Minister
Koizumi, or any of his cabinet members, talked about their upcoming
reentry into colonial ventures, they would consistently, and verbatim,
repeat this formulation: “We are part of an international community
and as such we have obligations. We are obligated to help with the reconstruction
of Iraq, and to help in the international fight against terrorism.”
And the government’s response to the kidnappings, almost immediately
after the news, was consistent. "Since our Self-Defense Forces
are providing reconstruction support for Iraqi people, we have no reason
for withdrawal," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told a news
conference.
The
Japanese ruling classes are very particular about their semantics. They
don’t mince words. They mince meanings. The ‘fight against
terrorism’ being obligatory, and almost inaudible these days from
the force of repetition, speaks little to the Japanese public beyond
a vague phrase, even if they have seen their own homegrown varieties,
in the form of the Red Army’s past expeditions in the 1970s, or
the Aum Shinrikyo’s subway sarin attack in Tokyo in 1995. But,
the Japanese are far more conducive to empathy with volunteer efforts,
which is manifest in the high percentage of ordinary citizens putting
aside up to years of their lives to volunteer whatever help they can
provide to communities they deem needy. So, from the very beginning,
the humanitarian face of the armed capabilities of the nation were highlighted
and emphasized. Reconstruction became the key word. Who could object
to that? Who wouldn’t resonate with that, especially in this land
of ever-Keynesian constructions?
In
all the reportage leading up to the dispatch of the armed forces, there
never was a word of surprise or a hint of curiosity from a single reporter
covering (rather too well) this ‘story’ that surely reconstruction
cannot begin while a war is ongoing. But the usage of the word ‘war’
was strictly and successfully purged from any discussion to do with
the dispatch of the Self Defense Forces. Not a whisper of that rude
‘W’ word indicating too much confusion and animosity; not
even when a Japanese diplomat and his aide were assassinated in Tikrit,
late last November, in a clear message from the Iraqi insurgents to
the Japanese government not to get involved.
(Incidentally,
to this day, nobody has asked the painfully obvious: What are the Self
Defense Forces defending themselves against, in a country that has never
attacked Japan, never intended to, and indeed had fantastic economic
relations with Japan?)
The
legal cover that Koizumi sought in his effort to join the colonialist
bandwagon, came as a very quiet, technical, purely ‘superficial’,
almost-executive order type of legislation that allowed the Japanese
Self Defense Forces to be stationed off the coast of Pakistan on a carrier
ship, to perform humanitarian/medical backup functions in the invasion
of Afghanistan. To this, another, this time more-noticed, piece of legislation
was attached more than a year later to provide the legal cover to send
‘humanitarian assistance’, this time to Iraq for reconstruction
work, and not for engaging in any form of fighting, nor for any ‘carrying
of lethal power’ for the Americans. This latter part was later
watered down (under US pressure no doubt) so that under certain conditions,
some types of ‘carrying lethal power’ (ammunition, fuel,
supplies, etc.) for the US forces were deemed OK.
From
very early on, the Japanese Self Defense Forces were said to be destined
only for ‘quiet’ areas, where no fighting was ongoing, and
would do their best to stay out of harm’s way so that they could
fulfill their humanitarian obligations. The media obeyed very discreetly
all the rhetoric coming out of Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuda’s
mouth, and dutifully repeated it word for word. It was emphasized that
the situation in Iraq (this was back in December 2003, when things had
not yet totally unhinged) was not too bad, and of course, there had
been some ‘incidents’ induced by ‘extremists’
or ‘remnants of Saddam’s regime’ or ‘foreign
terrorists’ (the Holy Trinity of the enemy). But, ‘Our boys
will stay way clear of that.’
When
push came to shove a majority of commentators, as well as ordinary citizens
with enough political knowledge of their society, would say that the
Japanese government had no choice, that the US power of decision over
other issues vital to Japanese economy, trade, etc. outweighed any symbolic
gesture the Japanese government could have brought to bear on the crazy
Americans. So, they did the best they could in a bad situation by going
into Iraq with a humanitarian helping hand, to reconstruct, to help
the poor, to bring them clean drinking water, and bring them hope.
This
does not really explain the total picture, though it may soothe the
likely nagging that is tugging at one’s conscience. It paints
a simplistic and fatalistic picture which has a therapeutic effect,
since it absolves individuals of taking responsibility for showing overt
and organized outrage. It is the easiest form of conservatism practiced
daily and by millions, especially in the lands designated as First World.
Most nations have catchy phrases for it. The Japanese phrase puts it
aptly as, “Shiyou ga nai!” (roughly, ‘there’s
no other way’).
But,
the truly astute, and there are many, see the rising militarism for
what it is. In response to the news of the kidnappings, nearly 2000
people joined a candlelight vigil on April 9, in the heart of Tokyo's
political district, demanding the return of the troops, while three
thousand more demonstrated at nearby Hibiya Park. The peace movement
in Japan may not be huge in numbers, but it is much more consistent
than, say, its American counterpart, which tends to take long vacations.
And every one of the members of the Japanese peace movement fears nothing
more than the consequences of their ruling classes’ lust for militarism.
We
are told that the Koizumi government is a ‘reformist’ one,
which to an innocent ear should sound great. In the context of Japanese
history since World War II, however, the reformists’ agenda has
been to turn the historical and constitutional clock back to the pre-WW-II
Imperial constitution. So, ironically, the reformists in Japan are the
most active of the most reactionary of the ruling class’s representatives
in the state.
This
explains the mindset behind Koizumi’s repeated visits in an official
capacity to the infamous Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which, along with
honoring the remains of two and a half million Japanese dead from numerous
wars, honors the diligent services of convicted war criminals. These
visits were recently ruled unconstitutional by a Fukuoka District Court,
which said in ruling on a claim for damages Wednesday that Koizumi's
visits were political in nature and therefore unconstitutional (AP,
Wednesday, April 7, 2004). The Japanese parliament has now been thrown
into slight turmoil as to what action to take vis a vis this ruling,
and whether to include the issue of visits to Yasukuni Shrine in the
deliberations of the bi-cameral committees set up to look into constitutional
revisions necessary to further reform and modernize Japan.
The
same not-so-neo colonial ambitions are at the heart of the rise in patriotism
demanded by the government in the form of legislation (passed by the
Diet in late 1999) to make it mandatory to respect the recognized national
flag and the national anthem during school ceremonies. Teachers or students
who do not rise to the flag and refuse to sing the national anthem can
be legally punished (The Japan Times, Wednesday, March 31, 2004; Guardian,
April 7, 2004). In fact, the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education issued
a warning before this year’s graduation ceremonies, that it would
punish teachers at public high schools in the capital who refused to
stand up and sing ‘Kimigayo’ (the national anthem) at graduation
ceremonies, usually held in late March.
The
overt demand placed on the public to salute the flag and love the anthem
or else, goes naturally hand in hand with the plans of the Japanese
government to get involved with the current colonial ventures on offer.
In spite of a pacifist constitution, Koizumi sought and by force of
the majority that his Liberal Democratic Party of Japan has held in
the Diet for the past fifty (give or take a few) years, created a completely
legal cover to join a war of aggression that can hardly be more naked
an act of aggression.
The
Self Defense Forces, thus sent to the quiet town of Samawa, have dispensed
water and have, for the most part, managed to stay out of harm’s
way. But in the land of the invaded a war rages on every soul, so without
the firepower to get to the soldiers, you do unto others as they do
unto you. Some defenseless volunteer workers and a journalist who were
there to help have become the sacrificial lambs who are paying the price.
One of the three, eighteen year old Imai-san, had just graduated from
high school, and was there to collect information about the use of uranium
depleted shells and their effects on the civilians.
The
Bush Administration, much like any possible Democrat administration
that may replace it, knows that they are onto something good (for them).
They have rediscovered imperialism, but now with a ‘democratic’,
‘consensus-based’ adage. When Bush, or Condi, or Dick ‘The
Boss’ Chain-me (who is in Japan right now), or any of the myriad
commentators of the ‘mainstream’ media in the US say something
like, ‘Our coalition partners number in the thirties to forties’,
they are attempting feebly yet successfully to legitimize their rape
and pillage (the irony may be lost to Americans, but not to us living
the consequences of past US interventions) . The logic being, the larger
the posse, the more normal-looking the lynching. And for this they need
as big a posse as they can buy. Never mind that many members of the
‘coalition’ are so tiny as to pale in significance before
any of the big US corporations who would have budgets bigger than half
of the coalition partners put together.
And
therein lies the significance of symbolism. The Japanese, as well as
the British and numerous other weasel-states taking part in this latest
chapter of history, know that it is exactly symbolism that Uncle Sam
is demanding of them. And for a symbolic gesture Uncle Sam is prepared
to pay a good price these days.
It
is perhaps a foregone conclusion that, short of some late intervention
by Iranians, Syrians, or local religious leaders to safeguard the release
of the three Japanese citizens being held captive, they will be sacrificed
to the hungry wolves of war. But, regardless, Koizumi, his cabinet members
and his parliamentary majority can ‘keep’ face because before
the official dispatch of the Self Defense Forces, they ‘told’
their people of possible terrorist attacks! And in the mandatory language,
what are you supposed to do when facing ‘senseless terrorism by
extremists and crazies’? Why, of course, nothing short of ‘staying
the course’!
It
is neither so comical nor very ironic, but painfully sardonic that people,
who, in their own country, are defending themselves against an invading
army are ‘extremists’ and ‘terrorists’, while
the people who have invaded and are spreading so much terror are nothing
short of sensibleness incarnate, with angelic intentions to boot.
All
major and minor participants in the ‘coalition’ are thirsty,
giddy about getting a share as well as hungry for getting more. And
they are hopeful too. Hopeful that enough fawning at the foot of the
emperor may bring about expansion of their turf. The Japanese generals
are smiling, nodding in agreement as they sharpen their swords, as they
practice by slicing brimstone, as the public is made to rise to the
flag and sing the anthem. Should the three defenseless Japanese citizens
be killed by their Iraqi captors, the general-industrialists will doubtless
use it to stoke the fires of their plans for a more openly militaristic
involvement and self-projection into world affairs. And in this they
are getting plenty of help from the Koizumi government.
Reza
Fiyouzat can be reached at: rfaze@gol.com
Keep CounterPunch
Alive:
Make
a Tax--Deductible Donation Today Online!
home / subscribe
/ about us / books
/ archives / search
/ links / |