Ten Years since Iraq War:Lessons to TackleNorth Korean Threat

March 20, 2013* was the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the controversial Iraq War.

Now it is especially important for Japan to take the opportunity to calmly analyze the problems the war has left behind.

The Iraq War, initiated under the Bush administration, ended in December 2011 with the full withdrawal of U.S. forces.

The war proved to be a bitter lesson for the United States: Occupied Iraq was in turmoil, nearly 4,500 American soldiers lost their lives and the budget deficit swelled with war expenditures. Weapons of mass destruction, the war’s cause, never materialized. U.S. dignity faltered, and criticism that the war did not justify the costs has not ceased.

The international community frayed as well. France, Germany and Russia opposed the use of military force by the U.S. and U.K. Even now, re-evaluation of the Iraq War persists.

We must bear in mind that the fundamental problems that brought the U.S. to war have yet to be addressed.

States that develop nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction ignore U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for their abandonment. The question remains: how do we deal with such situations?

Ignoring U.N. resolutions, North Korea conducted three nuclear tests and continues to move toward nuclear armament.

Japan must not only confront the growing threat of North Korea but also face the economic and military expansion of China.

The national debate on the Iraq War was split between Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi supporting the use of force in the interest of strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance and the Democratic Party of Japan and its opposition arguing against the intervention and calling it immoral.

However, the need for Japan to maintain its U.S. alliance has not changed in the past 10 years. On the contrary, that necessity has only gotten stronger.

It is dangerous for the international community to underestimate the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran just because the U.S. and U.K. overestimated Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program. If the U.S. becomes overly cautious about using force, the means to constrain the North Korean threat become ever narrower.

Japan needs to not only maintain relations with the U.S. but also take concrete steps to strengthen the alliance by exercising the right to collective security.

In Iraq, democratization through elections is taking place, and the northern and southern regions are prospering with the resumption of oil production. These changes would have been difficult without the toppling of Sadam Hussein’s dictatorship.

However, the political situation remains uncertain. Baghdad faces sectarian disputes and no end in sight to radical terrorism. The Nouri al-Maliki government is taking steps toward rebuilding Iraq. I hope it can carve a path to the restoration of public order.

*Translator’s note: Northeast Asia is nearly one day ahead of the U.S., hence to those living in Japan, the beginning of the Iraq War is March 20, 2003 rather than March 19, 2003.