Sending SDF to Iraq could trigger anger

Michiya Kumaoka, President, Japan International Volunteer Center, The Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo

No place in Iraq can be termed "a non-combat zone," which is a requirement for SDF dispatch.... What Japan needs to do is to devote itself to humanitarian relief activities under the United Nations.

The war in Iraq has left the country in tatters and drastically changed its scenery. This is the impression I got when I set foot on the war-torn country again in August, seven months after my last visit in January amid tensions of an imminent war. Although the war supposedly ended, the country is still in turmoil. How should Japan help it get back on its feet amid the confusion?

I left Japan on Aug. 19 to take part in a medical aid program at al-Mansur Children's Hospital in Baghdad in which the Japan International Volunteer Center has been participating since last year. I learned of the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad in Germany where I was waiting for a connecting flight. I was shocked beyond words when I heard that many long-time acquaintances, including UN special representative Sergio Vieira de Mello, had died or were seriously injured.

Distraught, I entered Iraq by land from Jordan the following day.

I visited the bomb site to offer my condolences. The building was reduced to rubble and work to rescue survivors was in progress. My heart went out to the people whose lives and effort to advance Iraqi reconstruction were shattered by violent means.

In some parts of Baghdad, where there was no clean water, people were forced to drink filthy water from sewage ditches. As a result, infectious diseases such as hepatitis A were widespread and many people were suffering from diarrhea. Hepatitis was also prevalent among medical personnel at a hospital where I visited to help children with leukemia. There is a serious shortage of drugs to treat them and illnesses are rampant.

Weapons of mass destruction have yet to be found. Crimes such as subversive acts and robbery are much more frequent than the time the country was under the rule of the Saddam Hussein regime. Moreover, a scenario for democratization remains invisible.

What was the Iraq war about? U.S. forces destroyed the Saddam regime, thereby breaking the lid of Pandora's box and creating a power vacuum. The situation gave rise to an environment to encourage looters and criminal organizations to engage in destructive activities. The only thing the war, whose moral cause remains obscure, has left behind is devastation.

The basic duties expected of occupational forces include the security of lifelines such as supply of clean water and electricity needed to support the livelihoods of local residents. But the U.S.-led coalition forces are not meeting those needs. Many Iraqis, including those who hated the former Saddam regime, are disappointed and angry with their failure. American soldiers working in intense heat that sometimes tops 50 degrees are often so edgy that they tend to show aggressiveness for no apparent reason. Such aggressive attitudes rouse and amplify antipathy among the Iraqi people, creating a vicious circle.

The United Nations and some international nongovernmental organizations have expressed their intention to continue their activities in Iraq. However, many others, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and Britain's Oxfam, have started to withdraw their international staff. As a result, humanitarian relief activities, including those organized by the United Nations, have come to a standstill.

Amid such circumstances, Iraqi people are starting to take the initiative to organize relief programs for orphans at mosques. I was also encouraged to see the Iraqis show their indomitable spirit as they brace themselves to rebuild their own livelihoods and society. The Iraqis are a resourceful people to begin with. Once aid projects effectively get off the ground, I am confident that they would not need to heavily rely on external aid before long.

While charged with the difficult task of restoring peace and order in Iraq, what can international society do to help its people? The following two points must be made clear: We must advance the initiative to pave the way to realize the establishment of an administration by the Iraqi people without delay. The mainstay of restoration and humanitarian relief projects must be transferred from the U.S.-led coalition forces to neutral organizations such as the United Nations.

According to media reports, the Japanese government plans to dispatch SDF troops to Iraq by the end of the year based on the Iraqi reconstruction special measures law. However, as things stand, no place in Iraq can be termed "a non-combat zone," which is a requirement for SDF dispatch. Moreover, sending a militaristic organization that works closely with occupational forces could trigger hostilities with various political powers. What Japan needs to do is to devote itself to humanitarian relief activities under the United Nations.