Bush Will Force Japan to Withdraw From UN
Japanese international journalist Nobuhiko Ochiai said, "With the Iraqi war this time, Japan will be forced to perform on the center stage of the world." Mr. Ochiai stressed that President Bush's declaration of war against Iraq will decide the future of Japan.
After the Iraqi war, Japan must face the crisis of North Korea. Mr. Ochiai contributed the following article to The Weekly Post.
1. Behind French Demands for Peace
The French government must stop its indulgence in power games. France has been performing opportunistically in its efforts at diplomacy. French President Chirac is one of the world leaders who made Dictator Saddam Hussein powerful.
In 1975, Chirac was the prime minister of France. He made contact with Saddam Hussein to promote a stable supply of oil from Iraq. He invited Saddam to his home.
Mr. Chirac received an order for constructing a nuclear power plant in Iraq. Why did an oil-rich country like Iraq need a nuclear power plant? The reason was that Iraq wanted to extract the plutonium needed to develop nuclear weapons.
Chirac and Hussein had been close friends since then. France sold Mirage jetfighters and surface-to-battleship missiles to Iraq. However, Iraq did not pay for those weapons. The transaction involved $5 billion, which is still outstanding today. If Saddam Hussein falls, payment will never be made.
Behind the French demand for peace with Iraq, there exists this kind of reason.
Also, the French have been preparing to rebuild Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. French businesses have already signed contracts with Iraqi business people who are expected to be exiled but will become the center of Iraqi business after the war.
2. Useless UN
While the UN continues to engage in a 'party of chattering,' Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Il have been preparing for terrorism. The UN embarked on solving civil wars in Congo, Rwanda or Palestine, but these all failed. The results were too little, too late.
So far, summit meetings with the leaders of Israel and Palestine have been held at the White House or Camp David, never at the UN.
One high-ranking government official from Israel remarked, "Our safety must be built by ourselves. The United Nations means the 'United Nothing.'"
When the US and British governments want to take strong action against Iraq, the proposal will be vetoed by a country which has veto power.
3. New United Nations
President Bush's ultimatum against Iraq was also an ultimatum to the UN.
If a war is between two countries, it can be prevented through diplomatic negotiations but wars with terrorists cannot. The UN is not the right place for discussing such war.
The US neo-conservative group of Americans including Richard Pearl, Chairman of the National Defense Council, who support the Bush Administration, are discussing the US withdrawal from the UN.
The US government pays $2.5 billion in contributions to the UN, which is equivalent to 20 percent of the total contribution. If the US withdraws from the UN, the UN will not be able to function. If Japan, which makes 20-percent contribution to the UN, joins in the US withdrawal, what will happen to the UN? One think tank of the US Republican Party has been studying how to build a new UN.
If the US, Japan and Britain agree to build a new UN, the old UN will disappear. The new UN will launch a policy not to allow rogue nations to become members.
No countries which have been opposing the military action against Iraq may have firm principle for opposition. If a new UN is built, they will rush to it.
4. Do Not Give Time to Dictator
Once the Iraq war ends, the same kind of operations must be taken against the North Korean dictator.
If the issue of North Korea is brought to the UN, China and Russia will push the subject to a dead end. It will face the same kind of situation as the Iraqi issue.
All nations must know how much time the 'chatter party' at the UN will give dictator Kim Jong Il. It will make the world more dangerous. The Japanese must learn deception from Kim Jong Il. Prime Minister Koizumi and Kim Jong Il signed the Pyongyang Declaration last September. Kim Jong Il seemed to have made concession, however, after the signing the declaration, Kim Jong Il did not take the right attitude to the Japanese.
When we look to take action against North Korea, it is impossible to consider it without the US. This is the reality. Therefore, to fight the Iraqi war with the US will contribute to the national interest of Japan. People who claim that sending an Aegis cruiser to the war is an indication of support the US operations is not correct. This is a war of the Japanese as well. Japan must do more.