International Cooperation Needed To Thwart Spread of Islamic State Terror

Published in Sankei News
(Japan) on 23 August 2014
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Maisha Kuniyuki. Edited by Nicholas Eckart.
The Islamic State, a group of Islamic Sunni extremists extending effective control over everywhere from Syria to Iraq, have executed captive American freelance journalist James Foley.

The execution, of which a video was made available online, is retaliation for the airstrikes the U.S. military has been conducting against the Islamic State group in Iraq. It was a base and cruel act that cannot be forgiven.

Mr. Foley went missing about two years ago while reporting from the tumultuous area. I would like to offer my condolences to his family, who stated that “he gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.”

The video also showed other American journalists held captive, pressing U.S. President Obama to end the airstrikes. It is also believed that this group is holding Japanese citizen Haruna Yukawa captive.

In a statement honoring James Foley, it is not surprising that the president took a firm stance against this extremist group, stating that “when people harm Americans, anywhere, we do what’s necessary to see that justice is done.”

The Islamic State group used the momentum they gained from the civil war in Syria to invade Iraq and, by imposing a cruel politics of fear, expanded its sphere of influence over a third of each country. It is also threatening neighboring countries like Lebanon and Jordan.

The murder of this American journalist marks the first time the group has openly bared its fangs against the U.S.

What separates the Islamic State group from other terrorist organizations is its vast territory covering two countries and the abundance of funds and weapons it has gained. It is also assembling a large number of foreign combatants from places like Europe and America. From his accent, the masked man who performed the execution is also believed to be from the U.K.

The fact that these combatants could return to homes in places like the U.S. and commit acts of terror supported by the powerful Islamic State group is a worldwide threat. We absolutely must prevent this from happening.

To do this, while the Islamic State group is being weakened by U.S. airstrikes and Kurdish forces and government ground troop attacks, involved countries need to strengthen their preventive measures against terrorism. A welcome first step was taken when cooperative tactics were used to recover the strategic dam in Iraq.

Focusing on the Islamic State group, President Obama also called for the following: “From governments and peoples across the Middle East there has to be a common effort to extract this cancer, so that it does not spread.”

At the high-level U.N. Security Council meeting to be held at the end of the month, the U.S. plans to discuss the foreign combatants. France also is proposing an international conference with the standing member-nations of the U.N. Security Council and neighboring countries, including Iran.

It is time we came together as an international community and hasten to contain the Islamic State group.


「イスラム国」 テロ拡散阻む国際連携を
2014.8.23 03:11 [国連]
 シリアからイラクにかけて実効支配を広げるイスラム教スンニ派過激組織「イスラム国」が、拘束していた米国人のフリージャーナリスト、ジェームズ・フォーリー氏を処刑した。
 イラクで米軍が同組織に加える空爆への報復として殺害されたもので、その映像はインターネットで公開された。卑劣で残忍な行為であり、断じて許せない。
 フォーリー氏は紛争地取材を重ね、約2年前シリアで消息を絶った。「シリアの人々の苦しみを伝えるため命をささげた」(遺族)氏に哀悼を表したい。
 動画は別の米国人ジャーナリストの拘束状態も映し、オバマ米大統領に空爆停止を迫っている。日本人の湯川遥菜さんも同じ組織に捕まっているとされる。
 オバマ氏が追悼声明で「米国人に危害が加えられたら処罰する」と、この過激組織に対し断固たる姿勢を示したのは当然だ。
 「イスラム国」はシリア内戦で得た勢いでイラクに攻め込み、残虐な恐怖政治を敷いて両国の各3分の1にまで勢力圏を拡大し、レバノンやヨルダンなど他の近隣諸国をも脅かそうとしている。
 今回の米国人殺害は、その組織が初めて公然と、米国に対して牙をむいたことを意味する。
 「イスラム国」が他のテロ組織と違うのは、両国にまたがる広大な拠点と豊富な資金、兵器を手にしたことだ。欧米などの外国人を戦闘員として多数集めている。殺害を実行した覆面男も、その英語から英国人とみられている。
彼らが強大な組織を背景に米国など出身国でテロ攻撃に出ることは、世界の脅威である。絶対に阻止しなければならない。
 そのためには、米空爆とクルド人部隊や政府軍の地上攻撃により「イスラム国」を弱体化させると同時に、関係各国がテロ防止策を強化する必要がある。連携作戦でイラク要衝のダムを奪還したことをその第一歩と歓迎したい。
 オバマ氏は追悼声明で「イスラム国」を病巣にたとえ、「除去する共通の取り組みが必要だ」とも呼びかけた。
 米政府は外国人戦闘員への対応を協議すべく来月下旬、国連安保理の首脳級会合を開く。フランスも常任理事国とイランを含む周辺国の国際会議を提案する。
 国際社会全体で「イスラム国」包囲網の構築を急ぐときだ。

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