イラク戦争１０年 「北」の脅威対処に教訓生かせ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 20, 2013)
Iraq War anniversary a chance to reflect on North Korea's threat
イラク戦争１０年　「北」の脅威対処に教訓生かせ（3月19日付・読売社説）

Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of the start of the controversial Iraq War. There are problems still left unsolved, and Japan today has a particular reason to calmly reassess the lessons of the war.
　論議を呼んだイラク戦争の開戦から、２０日で１０年を迎える。今、改めてこの戦争が残した課題を冷静に分析することが、日本にとってはとりわけ重要である。

The Iraq War began under the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush, and it ended in December 2011 with the full withdrawal of U.S. troops.
　米国のブッシュ前政権が始めたイラク戦争は、２０１１年１２月、米軍の全面撤収で終結した。

The war taught the United States a bitter lesson. U.S. rule of the occupied land was blundering, the lives of nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers were lost, and huge expenditures on the war ballooned the nation's fiscal deficit. The United States launched the war based on a claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, but such weapons were never found, undermining the U.S. authority.
　戦争は、苦い教訓を米国に残した。占領統治は混乱し、４５００人近い米兵の命が失われ、巨額の戦費で財政赤字は膨れあがった。開戦の理由とした大量破壊兵器が見つからず、威信は揺らいだ。

There is ceaseless criticism that the costs of the war were out of all proportion to its gains.
　「コストに見合わない戦争だった」との批判は絶えない。

In addition, the international community was unable to reach an agreement on the issue, as countries such as France, Germany and Russia opposed the use of force by the United States and Britain. The final verdict on the Iraq War will not be rendered anytime soon.
　国際社会の足並みも乱れた。米英の武力行使に、仏独露などが反対した。イラク戦争への評価は、今なお定まらない。

===

A question remains unanswered

However, we must keep in mind that one fundamental problem that drove the United States to launch the war remains unsolved.
　留意すべきは、米国が開戦に至った本質的な問題が今も未解決だということである。

The problem is this: What actions should the international community take, if a country that develops weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear weapons, ignores U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding that it scrap such weapons?
　核兵器など大量破壊兵器を開発する国が、国連安全保障理事会から廃棄を求める決議を突きつけられても無視する。そんな事態にどう対処すべきかという問題だ。

A case in point now is North Korea, a nation hell-bent on building a nuclear arsenal. The nation has conducted three nuclear tests, ignoring the Security Council's resolutions.
　安保理決議に従わず、核実験を３回も強行し、核武装化にひた走る北朝鮮がまさに実例だ。

In addition to the direct threat posed by North Korea, Japan also has to cope with the unabated military and economic expansion of China.
　日本は、北朝鮮の増大する脅威に直面するだけでなく、軍事・経済の両面で膨張著しい中国とも向き合わなければならない。

Japan was divided over the U.S. decision to launch the Iraq War. Then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi supported the use of force from the standpoint of prioritizing the Japan-U.S. alliance, but the Democratic Party of Japan and other opposition parties opposed the war, saying it had no justification.
　対イラク開戦を巡り、小泉首相が日米同盟重視の観点から、米国の武力行使を支持する一方で、民主党など野党は「大義なき戦争だ」と反対に回り、国論は割れた。

However, the necessity for Japan to firmly maintain its alliance with the United States remains unchanged over the past 10 years, or has even become stronger.
　だが、日本が、米国との同盟を堅持する必要性は１０年前から少しも変わっていない。むしろ強まったと言える。

===

What Japan needs to do

The United States and Britain overestimated the danger of Iraq's programs on weapons of mass destruction. But it will be dangerous if the aftereffects of that overestimate led the international community to underestimate the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea. If the United States becomes overly reluctant to use force against North Korea, there will be fewer options for responding to Pyongyang's threat.
　イラクの大量破壊兵器計画を米英が過大に評価した反動で、国際社会が北朝鮮やイランの核開発能力を過小に見積もるようでは危険だ。米国が武力行使に慎重になり過ぎれば、北朝鮮の脅威に対処する選択肢を狭める恐れがある。

Our nation must not be complacent regarding its current relationship with the United States. Japan must take concrete measures to reinforce the Japan-U.S. alliance, such as enabling itself to exercise the right to collective self-defense.
　日本に必要なのは、米国との関係に安住せず、集団的自衛権の行使を可能にするなど同盟強化へ具体的な手立てを講じることだ。

Iraq's democratization is making progress, as can be seen from events such as its conducting elections. Oil production is recovering, bringing prosperity to the nation's oil-producing northern and southern areas. Such results would have been difficult to achieve under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.
　イラクでは、選挙実施など民主化が進み、原油生産も回復して産油地の北部や南部は繁栄に沸いている。フセイン独裁政権の崩壊なしには難しかったろう。

However, Iraq's political situation remains unstable. Sectarian strife and terrorist attacks show no signs of abating in Baghdad and other key cities. Despite myriad problems, the administration of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is slowly heading toward reconstruction of the country. We hope Iraq will succeed in restoring security, which will help it set a steady course toward reconstruction.
　ただし、政情は不安で、首都バグダッドなどでは宗派間の抗争や過激派のテロがやまない。マリキ政権は曲がりなりに再建への歩みを続けているが、治安回復で復興への道筋を確かにしてほしい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 19, 2013)
（2013年3月19日01時19分  読売新聞）