イラク戦終結―米国は重い教訓に学べ

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 16
EDITORIAL: U.S. should learn heavy lessons from Iraq war
イラク戦終結―米国は重い教訓に学べ

U.S. President Barack Obama has declared the end of the Iraq war.
　オバマ米大統領が、イラク戦争の終結を宣言した。

Nearly 4,500 U.S. troops were killed during the war that stretched about nine years.
足かけ９年の戦闘で、死亡した米兵は４５００人近くにおよぶ。

The death toll among Iraqi civilians is said to have topped 100,000.
一方、イラク民間人の犠牲者は１０万人以上にのぼるともいう。

"It is harder to end a war than to begin one," the president said in a speech at a U.S. Army installation in North Carolina.
　「戦争を終えることは、始めることより困難だ」と、オバマ氏は米国内の基地で演説した。

We wish to commend Obama for making good on his pledge to withdraw troops and pulling out of the quagmire in Iraq.
　撤兵の公約を守り、イラクの泥沼から抜けだした点は評価したい。

However, it is questionable whether this war was really needed when we think about the horrible bloodshed it incurred.
だが、流された多くの血を思えば、果たしてこの戦争は必要だったのか。

We need to address this question once again.
改めて問わざるを得ない。

The former administration of George W. Bush went to war against Iraq, claiming the Saddam Hussein regime was developing weapons of mass destruction.
　ブッシュ前政権がイラクに戦争を仕掛けたのは、フセイン政権が大量破壊兵器を開発している、という理由からだった。

It capitalized on U.S. public opinion frightened by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. nerve centers and incited fears that unless the United States took pre-emptive action, it would be attacked again.
　米国中枢部への同時多発テロにおびえた世論に乗じ「先制攻撃をかけなければ、再び攻撃を受ける」と不安をあおった。

In fact, there was no connection between the Saddam regime and the international terrorist organization al-Qaida.
　実際は、フセイン政権と国際テロ組織アルカイダは無関係だった。

Nevertheless, the United States went to war without winning the support of the United Nations Security Council.
それでも国連安全保障理事会の支持も得られぬまま、強引に開戦に踏み切った。

The war without legitimacy drew harsh criticism from both international society and the U.S. public and caused a serious rift both at home and abroad.
　正当性のない戦争は、国際社会からも米国世論からも激しい批判を招き、内外に深刻な亀裂を生んだ。

In the end, no weapons of mass destruction were found. Washington's stopgap occupational policy threw Iraq into confusion and ignited a bloody sectarian conflict between Sunni Muslims and Shiites.
　結局、大量破壊兵器は見つからず、場当たりの占領政策でイラクは大混乱に陥った。イスラム教スンニ派と少数派シーア派との間で、血で血を洗う宗派闘争が燃え上がってしまった。

Obama said: "We are leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people."
　オバマ氏は「安定し、民衆に選ばれた政府を持つイラクにしたことは大きな業績だ」と語った。

But the actual situation in Iraq is far from stable.
だが、現状が安定しているとはとても言えないだろう。

Terrorist bombings are still going on.
　爆弾テロは依然として続いている。

On the very day Obama delivered the speech, at least three people were killed in northern Iraq by terrorist bombs.
オバマ氏の演説当日も、北部の爆弾テロで少なくとも３人が死亡した。

The rebuilding of infrastructure, such as power plants, also still has a long way to go.
電気など生活インフラの再建も途上だ。

As the United States pulls out its troops, it must squarely face the heavy lessons of this war.
　撤退を機に、米国はこの戦争の重い教訓を直視しなければならない。

There are also signs that sectarian antagonism is flaring up again in expectations of a power vacuum after the U.S. withdrawal as the administration of Nouri al-Maliki is detaining Sunnis.
　米軍撤退後の「力の真空」をにらんで、マリキ政権がスンニ派を拘束するなど、宗派間対立の再燃の兆しがでている。

Armed Sunni insurgents who cooperated with the U.S. forces while the country was under occupation appear to be increasingly nervous about retaliation.
　逆に、米軍に協力してきたスンニ派武装勢力は、報復に神経をとがらせているようだ。

Iraq's relations with neighboring countries are also unstable as Iran is increasing its influence in southern Iraq and Turkish forces are advancing into the northern region inhabited by the Kurds.
南部ではイランの影響力が増し、北部のクルド人地区にはトルコ軍が侵攻するなど、周辺国との関係も不安定だ。

If confusion continues at home, it could once again lead to foreign intervention.
　国内が混乱すれば外国勢力の介入を再び招きかねない。

To avoid such a situation, we want the Iraqi people to build a stable democracy on their own.
そうした事態を避けるためにも、イラク人自身の手で、安定した民主国家を作ってほしい。

Japan also dispatched Self-Defense Forces to Samawah in southeastern Iraq.
　日本も自衛隊をサマワに派遣した経緯がある。

It is an active player in supporting Iraqi reconstruction.
イラク復興支援では当事国である。

Japan should continue civilian aid and economic cooperation so as not to create a vacuum in support.
支援の空白を生まないよう、民生援助や経済協力を続けていきたい。