Posted on 02/11/2003 4:51:10 PM PST by demlosers
The government has decided unofficially to announce that it will endorse U.S. action against Iraq if Washington launches an attack, government sources said Thursday.
The unofficial decision was made after U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell presented evidence to the U.N. Security Council suggesting Iraq has been hiding weapons of mass destruction.
Most government officials allegedly believe the United States is highly likely to attack Iraq.
"If Iraq doesn't cooperate with the inspections and doubts concerning Iraq's development of weapons of mass destruction aren't cleared up, as a U.S. ally our conclusion will be to endorse U.S. military action," a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
"(After Powell reported evidence Iraq has been deceiving U.N. arms inspectors), suspicions that Iraq owns weapons of mass destruction intensified," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said at the House of Representatives Budget Committee Thursday morning. "Japan will have to act as a responsible member of the international community as well as a U.S. ally."
Koizumi's statement signaled the government will announce support for a U.S. attack on Iraq, political analysts said.
The prime minister also told reporters at noon Thursday that a new U.N. resolution to approve military action against Iraq would be preferable. But he added that, even without a resolution, it was necessary to forge a framework of international cooperation.
We'll remember who our friends are, France.
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