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Japanese troops leave for Iraq
Tokyo sent off its first army team to Iraq in the largest and most dangerous overseas military assignment since World War II. The move Friday follows intense debate on the matter, stirred up by the killing of two Japanese diplomats in Iraq late last year. Dressed in green camouflage fatigues, the 30-member contingent and their backup team stood in formation while listening to words of encouragement from the defense minister and senior officers. "Yours is a very noble mission," Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba told the assembled soldiers. "There are people in Iraq hoping you will lend them a helping hand." Police beefed up at major airports, train stations, the U.S. Embassy and other key facilities to guard against possible terrorist attacks, a National Police Agency official said. Media reports said late last year that terror group al Qaeda had warned Japan it would attack the heart of Tokyo as soon as Japanese troops arrived in Iraq. The ground force are expected to deploy for southeastern Iraq, where they will act as scouts for a force that could include up to 1,000 troops. If Ishiba judges the area safe after team members report back, he will likely order the main body of around 600 ground troops to set off beginning in late January. A group of air force personnel left last month in preparation for shuttling supplies from Kuwait to Iraq. The troop plan is a controversial one for Japan with many critics saying such a dispatch violates the nationâs pacifist constitution. Article nine of the constitution forbids Japanâs military -- the Self-Defense Forces -- from waging war overseas. But a law enacted last July allows the troop dispatch, limiting the militaryâs activity to "non-combat zones." Opponents of the troop dispatch are concerned that owing to the security situation in Iraq, Japanese forces may be drawn into combat. No Japanese soldier has fired a shot in combat or been killed in an overseas mission since World War II despite roles in international peacekeeping missions, such as in East Timor, which were made possible by a 1992 law. Opinion polls showed most Japanese were against the Iraq war and most are now opposed to the deployment of troops. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Friday it was in the nationâs interests to help build a stable Iraq. "Opinion is divided now," Koizumi said. "But with time, I believe the people will understand." The plan allows for the troops to be sent during a one-year period starting December 15 but no specific date for the dispatch or the size of the deployment was provided. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-01-17 |
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