The 3 Japanese captured in Iraq
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I do not have much time to write long essays, but my heart goes to the 3 Japanese that were captured by the Iraq terrorists.
Koizumi cannot ask the troops to return since that will be a sign of weakness on the Japanese. But to know the fate of the 3 Japanese will be burnt to death is pretty tragic.
What has been gained from the fighting of the Iraq war ? -
Since the american has already reached this stage. They cannot quit from here! If the allies and the american withdraw now. Iraq will be rule by the violent clerics and more type of taliban terrorist will be produced and harvest from there. Especially their neighbour is Iran,a proven supporter of many terrorist group! More radical group will emerge and gobilisation national will be in danger! My stand to american is if u want to do a job ,don't do half f**k job. Do it until the end!
As for the 3 japs,the only thing we can do is hope for them to be rescue by the allies! If they r kill,their sacrifices hope will not be in vain. -
i'm with you on this, but the americans need to make their stand now, i mean, lie better, not like the past few times where they don't do anything much to support the "evidence" they gaveOriginally posted by zenden9:Since the american has already reached this stage. They cannot quit from here! If the allies and the american withdraw now. Iraq will be rule by the violent clerics and more type of taliban terrorist will be produced and harvest from there. Especially their neighbour is Iran,a proven supporter of many terrorist group! More radical group will emerge and gobilisation national will be in danger! My stand to american is if u want to do a job ,don't do half f**k job. Do it until the end!
As for the 3 japs,the only thing we can do is hope for them to be rescue by the allies! If they r kill,their sacrifices hope will not be in vain. -
Yes, I know that american cannot leave now. If they do it had formed another mistake like Somalia.
I was just wondering why was it fought in the first place
There is no WMD in the first place. The Americans seems to have fought a meaningless war where the lost has becomes too great and there are no benefits. -
Japan's plea: Don't kill the hostages
by Amal Hamdan
Friday 09 April 2004 11:59 AM GMT
The people of Japan have been making heartfelt pleas to an Iraqi group that has captured three Japanese - please do not kill your hostages.
The appeals have come in the form of faxes and emails that flooded the Aljazeera website following the airing on Aljazeera television of a videotape showing Japanese hostages captured in Iraq.
On Thursday the television aired a chilling, soundless tape showing the three hostages sitting at the feet of heavily armed kidnappers. A previously unknown group called Sayara al-Mujahadin said it would "burn them alive" if Tokyo does not withdraw its troops from Iraq.
The Japanese messages pointed out that the hostages - Noriaki Imai, Nahoko Takato and Soichiro Koriyama - were in Iraq for humanitarian purposes and had strongly opposed the US war on Iraq and deployment of Japanese forces.
Fukushima Mizuho, the leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party, in a fax said the hostages "love Iraq and Iraqi people". She called for their immediate release.
Distress
The Pacific Asia Resource Centre, a Japanese non-government organisation, also sent an appeal to the hostages-takers saying they opposed the occupation of Iraq.
"We want you to know that very large numbers of Japanese people have been strongly opposing the presence of Japanese military forces in your country. However, please remember killing the three innocent Japanese you are now holding hostage will not solve the problem. Instead, it will only create hatred towards your country by our people.
Please be patient and give us more time to convince our government to withdraw from Iraq."
Ueda Furnio, the mayor of Sapporo city where activist Imai comes from, also urged the captors to release all the hostages.
"(Imai) entered Iraq to study on his own the effects of nuclear pollution and depleted uranium shells hoping that he would contribute to peace and stability in Iraq someday. He is a peace-loving young person with strong ambitions," wrote Furnio.
"There is no reason for them to be involved in such a tragic case as this despicable act of violence."
Other Japanese also expressed similar distress over the incident. "I understand the anger of the Iraqi people towards our government, which is working as a war dog for the US aggression. But why must a peace activist Imai be punished in place of the prime minister Koizumi and other hawkish sycophants?," wrote Yukiko Maruta.
"These three people are working on aid workers [sic] and a journalist. They went to Iraq not to fight against Iraqi people, destroy Iraq, but they would like to help the people. I do not understand why they have to accept this fate, at all. Please air the news that they are not fighters but aid workers. I can not let them die."
Families' anguish
Meanwhile, families of the hostages gathered in Tokyo on Friday to plead for the government to do whatever it takes to bring them safely home, including withdrawing troops from Iraq.
Looking pale and tense, relatives of the three met Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi.
One young man held Buddhist rosary beads tightly. Others clutched handkerchiefs.
"I can't bear the thought that my child might be burned alive," Koriyama's mother, Kimiko, was quoted by Kyodo news agency as telling a news conference.
"I believe that mothers over there (in Iraq) know best how it feels to lose one's child in war. I hope the Iraqi people too will hear our plea."
Anxious days
Video footage showed the hostages with knives at their throats, although this was not aired in Japan. Takato could be heard screaming as she covered her face.
Imai's father, Takashi, told the same news conference that they had called on Kawaguchi to consider withdrawing the troops.
"But the foreign minister only said she would pass this on, which was a great pity."
The families also said they wanted to meet with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to make their appeal directly.
Asked in parliament if he would meet them, though, Koizumi said: "At the moment, the foreign ministry is handling this."
For the families it was an anxious day.
"We shouldn't have let him go," Naoko Imai was quoted by the Asahi Shimbun daily as saying of her son.
Hostages' background
Imai, 18, graduated from high school last month. He is a member of the Campaign to Abolish Depleted Uranium and travelled to Iraq on 1 April to study the effects of depleted uranium on Iraqi children, according to the CitizensÂ’ Network for DU Abolition. Imai was planning to write a book documenting the stories of victims of depleted uranium. "Mr Imai has been deeply saddened by the fact that many innocent Iraqi children have been suffering from cancer and leukaemia," wrote the organisation in a fax.
Takato, 34, is also an aid worker and peace activist. She travelled to Iraq in April 2003, after US and British tanks entered Baghdad, wrote her friend Tomoatsu Kayano. She spent months there helping hungry street children and drug addicts. Takato also delivered food to hospitals, pencils and notebooks to schools and assisted in the reconstruction of a school. This was her third trip to Iraq.
Freelance photojournalist Koriyama, 32, is a former soldier turned freelance photojournalist. Last May, Koriyami provided the Weekly Asahi magazine, published by the mass-circulation Asahi Shimbun, with pictures of Baghdad after the city fell.
Aljazeera (with agency additions)
Nahoko Takato was working with street children in Iraq -
koizumi will encounter no resistance from his general public if he withdraws troops. except from his right wingers, who are always white-washing history and glorifying japanese expansion. this is a step in their gradual deformation of japan's pacifist constitution. the japanese hostages are innocent and should not pay the price for their leaders' mistakes. but if koizumi doesn't give a damn, i hope his people hate him and realize that they must finally learn to choose their leaders more carefully. if germans can do it, so can japanese. it's only a matter of whether they want to.Originally posted by socrates:I do not have much time to write long essays, but my heart goes to the 3 Japanese that were captured by the Iraq terrorists.
Koizumi cannot ask the troops to return since that will be a sign of weakness on the Japanese. But to know the fate of the 3 Japanese will be burnt to death is pretty tragic.
What has been gained from the fighting of the Iraq war ?
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ordering a retreat will only harden the terrorists stance that they can win through violence.
what is needed is an immediate handover of power to the iraqis. let them fight their own civil wars. -
those people are simply "BASTARDS"
why do the people there simply don't care about the hostages?
what for then help the people there since they dont want to stand up for their own happiness.
once again, they are "BASTARDS", harming the civilians.
hope the BASTARDS DIE MISERABLELY AND REGRETFULLY.
THOSE INHUMANE BASTARDS!!! -
Japan is not the world third largest country but its defence expenditure is the world third largest.
It is very clear that Japan is trying to....
Terriorist, America, Japan are equally dangeous and make the world very unstable.
But America and Japan also good in some area especially economy -
Let me write some of the things tat were lost because of the war
1)UN power. America decide to unilaterally fight the war which result in UN being look useless
2)America reputation. Before the war, other countries r more with America than against
3)Spark hatred among muslims. Now radical muslims r springing out more because of Iraq.
4)Intensified terrorist attack. Madrid bomb, Chechen Theatre, Marriott bombing, Yemen ship, attack on embassy and countless attacks in iraq
5)Political trouble for old allies of america. This includes spain which have lost the election, british, US and japan.
6) Lost of lifes. US had lost about 1000 people while Iraw had lost 10,000. Thousands of other innocent lives like the 3 Japanese and other allies soldiers
7) Lost of money. All the billions pump into Iraq is about the 2-3 times the total amount of reserves singapore had, if not much more. Fiscal spending in US has never being higher
8 ) Political turmoil in Iraq. Handling over power doesn't seems to be anytime in future. Now different sectors r fighting against US, and they will fight among themselves if US leaves.
9) Lost of confidence in US and Birtish intelligience. They seems to have bungle up in their job for their lost cause of WMD.
10) Much grief and problems await Iraqis after the war. No job, no water, no electricity, no schooling, no sense of security for months.
Wat have they gained ?
1) Teaching other people a lesson not to play with US. However this had to depend on how Iraq becomes in future
2) Removes Saddam. However tis success again has to depend on wat Iraq is like in future. Another crazy ruler may take the seat instead.
3) Prevent the building up of WMD by Saddam. However again this had to depend on wat it is like for Iraq in future. If another crazy leader take the control, things will very much remains the same before Saddam
Any other points to add ?
Too bad US can't leave now. If they do tat will be real irresponsible -
chualcsg... just a question, r u from china ??
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the UN has grown too big, too old and too bureacratic to have any real powers now.
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The real problem here is that the United States has blundered into a mess once again , but having said that, it's already in a such crappy situation where it will not hurt any more to bring the full brunt of their firepower to bear instead of bowing to concerns about not harming so-called Iraqi civilians.how many fo them have turned out to be AK-toting thugs who kidnap civilians as hostages.Im not saying every Iraqi is such but haven't we all seen the reality today?I say the US should conduct intensive operations at ground level and use overpowering force to deal with these miscreants.They are not terrorist brigades, merely thugs who adopt such tactics to call America's bluff so they can grab power.Its all politcal down in Iraq.Lets see some action in hostage rescue.In fact, I think Japan should really have a reason to act now that the hostages are Japanese...The ramifications nonetheless may or may not turn out to be tragic but sitting on the fence is not doing anyone a favor.
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Let's face the hard truth.
Can the mere holding of 3 civillain hostages really coerce a missioned determined country like Japan into an immediate retraction of its forces?
The chances are very slim. -
Wonder how are the 3 hostages?
Heard they might be burnt alive... 
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sgboy2004, the Good Boi
Croco Corner
Croco Movie -
Like most human endeavours, the Iraq war is driven by ego.
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Although the hostages are not going to make Japan waver, however it sure put in much political pressure and problem on Koizumi. He seems to be under attack from opposition for allowing soldiers to be deployed over Iraq in the first place.
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Going around forcibly may not help a lot. Iraq is very big and they do not seems to have a damn clue where is the hostages. US seems to have lost control of some cities for some time too. Will iraq becomes another vietnam or somalia ?
If they use excessive force, they just succeeded in making more Iraqis join the resistance.
The situations there have gotten into a big lump of sticky costly mess. -
this was the case that opponents of the war made right from the start... that when u enter a country militarily without a proper exit plan, "mission creep" comes up and u will end up caught in a vietnam style quagmire.
it was typical short-sighted thinking on their part from the start. one might make the case that even if WMD stockpiles had been found, u'll still have a hard time containing the civillian unrest as well.
but now that they're in there, and committed themselves at least for the medium term, they cannot be seen "abandoning" iraq... especially given the legacy of 9-11, retreating from iraq would seem like they're exposing themselves and their allies to more terrorist attacks since u'll basically be handing over the country as a terrorist training ground to these taliban style nuts.
so what to do now? basically, the US would HAVE to stay in there and those countries that had supported the US in their war have to stay strong and resolute. we're basically seeing the tunnel at the end of the tunnel now... its not likely that there's gonna be any light for some time to come.
overall, its bad for Sg either way... we could not sit on the fence when the US invaded iraq. they made it damn clear from the start: are u WITH US or NOT?
talk all we want about sovereignty and independent foreign policy, but a small country like Sg could not have said "maybe" when big bro USA applies subtle diplomatic pressures.
now, Sg can't very well say "we want out!" cos it would damage US prestige and damage us in many ways as well... worst of all, it might not actually prevent any terrorist attacks if any was intended... it might actually send the msg that we're weak and have capitulated... hence, what better time to deal us a crushing blow?
so basically, yeah... we're farked either way... -
THe US has already missed the boat to doing that. By declaring victory and putting Iraq on the road to a civilian transition in May 2003, hillbilly hick Bush has effectively tied his own hands as to what he can do now the the Americans have allowed the rebels to fester and outside influences to stir up forces in Iraq beyond the control of the Americans.Originally posted by LazerLordz:The real problem here is that the United States has blundered into a mess once again , but having said that, it's already in a such crappy situation where it will not hurt any more to bring the full brunt of their firepower to bear instead of bowing to concerns about not harming so-called Iraqi civilians.how many fo them have turned out to be AK-toting thugs who kidnap civilians as hostages.Im not saying every Iraqi is such but haven't we all seen the reality today?I say the US should conduct intensive operations at ground level and use overpowering force to deal with these miscreants.They are not terrorist brigades, merely thugs who adopt such tactics to call America's bluff so they can grab power.Its all politcal down in Iraq.Lets see some action in hostage rescue.In fact, I think Japan should really have a reason to act now that the hostages are Japanese...The ramifications nonetheless may or may not turn out to be tragic but sitting on the fence is not doing anyone a favor.
The only game left for the American's to play now is one of damage limitation, to hit back piecemeal against the insurgents and hope to wear them down. To do that it requires a bigger committment of troops and to back up those troops with real intelligence through human interaction with people on the ground. Even then, it might already be too late and the whole situation might already be beyond the point of no return on the road to another Vietnam.
Again, I say again, this would not be happening at all if
- Texan idiot Bush had stayed the course in Afghanistan before thinking about Iraq
- Thinking the whole thing through and decide what comes after the military victory, EVEN before iniitiating action against Iraq.
- He had left Iraq alone -
But a militant group holding three Japanese captives was reported early this morning to have agreed to free them.
But just after 2 am today, the Iraqi group Saraya al-Mujahideen, which kidnapped three Japanese hostages, said it would release them within 24 hours, abandoning a threat to kill them, Arabic television station Al-Jazeera said.
'They will release them in 24 hours in response to a call from the Muslim Clerics Association,' the TV station said, referring to a body of Iraqi religious scholars.
The change of mind came after Japan's Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi appealed for the release of the Japanese hostages in a videotaped message set for worldwide broadcast.
'The three Japanese hostages are private individuals, and friends of Iraq... The people of Japan and I strongly demand an immediate and safe release of the three hostages,' she said in the message.
The militants had earlier threatened to kill the three - a teenage peace activist, a woman aid worker and a photojournalist - by 8pm today if Japanese troops do not pull out of Iraq by then.
I can't believe it
They are going to be freed !
They seemed to have freed the 7 Christian Koreans captured initially too because they pretended to be fromt he medical team
Eight South Korean Christian missionaries were held by insurgents at a roadblock but were released unharmed on Thursday after they pretended to be doctors and nurses, the Foreign Ministry said. -
We analy thing base on logic and reason and nothing to do with "come from" but just sastify your curious I am Singaporean.
My grand grand parent were from China, sureOriginally posted by stupidissmart:chualcsg... just a question, r u from china ?? -
Just a question... don't be offended okie
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Well you can also put it this wa.Japan is not the worlds largest country but they are the number 1 country interms of donations and foreign aids to poorer countries.Originally posted by chualcsg:Japan is not the world third largest country but its defence expenditure is the world third largest.
It is very clear that Japan is trying to....
Terriorist, America, Japan are equally dangeous and make the world very unstable.
But America and Japan also good in some area especially economy -
A donator do not have the right to kill people.
Japan is grade 3 Terrorist
(Because Japan has contributed)Originally posted by |-|05|:Well you can also put it this wa.Japan is not the worlds largest country but they are the number 1 country interms of donations and foreign aids to poorer countries.