Copyright 2005 The Asahi Shimbun  
The Asahi Shimbun
March 21, 2005 Monday
LENGTH: 666 words

HEADLINE: THERE IS NO SIGN THAT GLOBAL UNCERTAINTY IS EASING.

BODY:
The Asahi Shimbun said in an editorial on March 20.

: Iraq after 2 years of war

Sunday marked the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by U.S. and British troops. U.S. President George W. Bush seized the approaching milestone to exult over the results of the conflict, as he spoke of the "thawing of democracy in the Middle East" and claimed that the Iraqi people are striving to build a "fully democratic state."

It is true that Iraqi voters responded to this January's Iraq national congress election with a high turnout at the polls. Palestinian peace talks have also begun, addressing an issue that has long seemed hopeless. Pressured by the determination of the Lebanese people, Syrian troops are preparing to withdraw from that country.

Pondering the struggle that has gripped Iraq for years, we can understand how Bush is in high spirits and wants to proclaim that "the trumpets of freedom are sounding." He undoubtedly also feels buoyant about his re-election last fall. However, we need to ask ourselves how things actually stand today.

Bush said if the war had not been waged, the regime of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would certainly have stayed in power, continuing to pose a major threat to the peoples of the United States, Iraq and the Middle East in general.

It is still far too early, however, to settle the accounts for the events of the past two years on this reasoning alone.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have died in the conflict. There are no signs of any easing in the actions of terrorists bent on taking advantage of widespread anti-American sentiment to wreak havoc. Terrorist attacks have spread to Spain and Southeast Asia. Though the United States has suffered no new strikes since the devastating events of September 2001, it hardly follows that the world has become safer as a result of the war.

To this day, no one has taken responsibility for the failure to uncover any weapons of mass destruction, the alleged presence of which was strongly stressed as the justification for the invasion.

This war has taught the world of the dangers of the actions of a military superpower in linking mistaken intelligence to the theory of pre-emptive strikes, while ignoring the will of the United Nations and its own allies.

The majority of the Iraqi people had wanted the fall of Saddam's government. Steady progress is also being made in building a new country. But even so, this cannot justify this war.

We feel one of the aims of the talk about bringing democracy to the Middle East is the desire to deflect criticism of the Iraq war. But President Bush's idea is to spread liberty and democracy in the Middle East, a region dominated by years of dictatorships and oppression. This will serve to stabilize the region, and it will also make it possible to stamp out hotbeds of international terrorism. This, in a nutshell, is the assertion of President Bush.

We wonder, however, if the United States is not taking too lightly the overwhelmingly anti-American opinion on the Arab street. The move toward democracy has never been easy. And even if the forces of democracy are advanced, the outcome may very well include governments that are strongly anti-Washington in their leanings. Iraq is certainly no exception.

The aim of Bush's round of visits to European countries last month was to enlist cooperation in the rebuilding of Iraq. The fruits were trifling at best. The time that has passed since the first shots were fired is hardly sufficient to bridge the gulfs that this military action has created.

The world appears to be helplessly at the mercy of the powerful force wielded by the United States. There has been absolutely no alleviation of the anxieties of such a world.

The use of force creates new menaces, leaving no choice but to take up arms further in response. The perpetual unrest will never be resolved until the United States itself takes action to put an end to this chain of events.

LOAD-DATE: March 21, 2005