Britain offers to ensure safety of Japanese troops in Iraq: Koizumi

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050120/wl_mideast_afp/japanbritainiraq&cid=1514&ncid=1473

TOKYO (AFP) - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Britain had offered to ensure the safety of Japanese troops in southern Iraq (news - web sites) after the March pullout of Dutch soldiers currently protecting the Japanese contingent.


Koizumi said the pledge had come from British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who is currently in Japan on a two-day visit.


While noting that the Japanese troops had their own safety measures, Koizumi said Straw had told him Britain would offer "all-out cooperation" because it was in charge of security in southeastern Iraq.


Straw also met with Japanese counterpart Nobutaka Machimura and told him Britain was fully aware of its responsibility in southeastern Iraq, said a senior Japanese foreign ministry official present at the talks.

more

[Spazito]

1. There is something so ironic that one of the 'coalition of the willing'...

has to be protected by another of this faux coalition to ensure they don't pull out. To me it points out, yet again, the total tragic farce Iraq has become.

[NNN0LHI]

3. Even more ironic is that the US still has troops in Japan to "protect" them

In reality the US is still occupying Japan nearly 60 years after the end of WW II. Cool, huh?

Don

[Spider Jerusalem]

4. Well...

there are about 500-600 Japanese troops in Iraq, roughly a battalion. The Brits have one or two divisions. So the Royal Army is far better able to provide effective defence for the Japanese than they are themselves.

Which, of course, begs the question: why are the Japanese in Iraq in the first bloody place? I can hear the phone call between Bush and Blair now: "well, George...these Japanese aren't really able to defend themselves. Our chaps are going to have to see to it, since we've the manpower. You do realise how pointless it was to bring them in?"

"Now, Tony...it looks good, see? Most people ain't gonna pay attention to how MANY Japanese there are, they'll just know that Japan sent troops. See? That way everyone thinks we got the world on our side. That's why we got Poland and the Netherlands to come in."

"But, George...The Poles and the Dutch have withdrawn their troops."

"SHHH! Don't say that out loud, someone might hear you!"

<sigh>

[Ian David]

2. Well, it seemed kind of daft. I mean, a guard guarding a guard.

eom