Japan Will Dispatch 1,100 Soldiers to Iraq, Yomiuri Reports

[Lori Price CLG]

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Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Japan will send 1,100 soldiers to Iraq to provide humanitarian (???!!!) assistance, the Yomiuri newspaper said. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who was briefed yesterday on the security situation in the country, will adopt the plan Monday at a Cabinet meeting, the report said.

The decision follows the death of two Japanese diplomats who were shot near the northern Iraqi town of Tikrit on Saturday. The incident renewed safety concerns among lawmakers and stirred debate on the wisdom of sending troops .

Lori Price

[JaySherman]

1. grrrrrrr

If Tokyo gets bombed over this :grr:

[cliss]

2. Wow. They must have done

some hard-core arm-twisting for this. I'm really surprised, because the last I heard the Japanese were very firm about not sending any troops until the situation "calms down a bit" in Iraq (meaning: it'll be a cold day in hell before you see us there).

They must have used a very effective threat, since the Japanese capitulated. Well, now Koizumi will have to deal with his people, instead. They won't take kindly to this.

[Kinkistyle]

3. When the SDF soldiers start dying, Koizumi is finished.

Over 3/4 of the Japanese population does not support sending SDF troops to Iraq. Once the soldiers start dying, we're going to see some serious discontent with the huckster in the office. Its rapidly becoming a two-party system here in Japan, with the Dems getting some additional credibility with the recent crossover by former Foreign Minister, Makiko Tanaka.

[Zech Marquis]

4. Koizumi is done

doesn't he remember the VERY spefiis threat by the Iraqis--"if you send ANY of your Jietai troops here, we WILL attack them, AND Osama bn Missing's crew also warned,"we KNOW how to attack Japan--inside Japan!" Darth Rummy's goons must have made some kind of awful threat behind closed doors for Koizumi to bend over and take it like this....

[Art_from_Ark]

5. Think "steel tariffs"

and other economic "incentives".

[Zech Marquis]

6. ah haaaaaaaaa

the steel tariff issue, how did I forget that? :eyes: So he said,"if I drop the steel tarrif, you will send the Jietai to Iraq to get blown up"..

[Art_from_Ark]

7. You're on the right track

Now think of this administration's way of doing things. And think of Japan's biggest export market. And think of Japan's precarious economic position as it walks the tightrope between recession and stagnation. Is the picture becoming clearer?