The JSA strongly opposes US-UK attack against Iraq and calls for peaceful settlement through the UN

October 1, 2002
The Japan Scientists’ Association

The Bush administration is about to conduct preemptive attack (perchance using nuclear weapons) against Iraq, which the administration this January placed as “an axis of evil” together with Iran and North Korea.  The Department of Defense made a detailed plan for attack against Iraq, and the Bush administration proposed a resolution of “authorization to use force” to the US Congress.  US military action is already developing in neighboring countries as Kuwait and US intelligence agents start to work in the Northern Iraq where Kurd controls.
President Bush brought two excuses to justify attack against Iraq in his UN address in September.

1. There are keen suspicions that Iraq has high-level contacts with terrorists such as al Qaeda members that have been suspected to conduct the synchronized attack on September 11, 2001, and it supports and cooperates with them.
2. There is a possibility that Iraq behind the curtain develops and possesses weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, biological etc.), on account of Iraq’s defection of UN resolutions that asked to accept inspection after the Gulf War.

These excuses, however, only indicate the existence of “potential possibilities (doubts)” with the absence of clear evidence.  It can be definitely stated that these problems would not be accurately verified without any actual inspection on the spot.
Changing preceding strategy, Iraq accepted without condition UN inspection after Bush’s UN address.  The US did not handle Iraq’s acceptance because it stalls, adhering to a new UN resolution that leads to the “authorization to use force”, shows an attitude not to hesitate unilateral military action in case of Iraq’s reject.  One may see here the US’s understanding that the heart of issue is not the acceptance of inspection but Iraq’s threat and its real intension to “defeat Saddam Hussein” whatever it takes.
The US unilateral or the US-UK bilateral attack against Iraq corresponds to “preemptive attack” that Art. 51 in the UN Charter renounces and “the act of aggression” to sovereign nation, and violates international laws.  If the UN adopts the resolution of “authorization of use force”, it will lead to “the suicide of the UN”, namely the forfeit of raison d’être of the UN.  We hope that UN Secretary General Anan will take the responsible initiative in this problem.
In Iraq after the Gulf War, approximately a million of tall mostly consisting of children, aged, and women, has been taken on by air raids frequently conducted by the US and the UK on the excuse of trespass into the no-fly zone established without the UN’s authorization, after effect of depleted uranium ordnances, and by stringent economic sanction on Iraq lasting up to now from the time of one-sided imposition after the Gulf War.
The attack by the US and the UK would wreak further disaster on Iraqi people in this situation.  We oppose any attack against Iraq and call for peaceful settlement of the issue through the UN. We strongly hope that every UN country ant its nation be on the same standpoint as ours and reach out to the US, the UK, and the UN.
The Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi not only does not show the definite attitude to oppose US’s attack against Iraq, while Chancellor Schröder and President Chirac opposed, but also intends to introduce all-out national emergency legislation saying “It is good to have a shelter against every storm”.  We strongly claim that PM Koizumi should make efforts to peacefully settle on the base of the Constitution, rescinding his attitude to cooperate on attack against Iraq.