• Iraq’s constitution : North Korea Iraq’s constitution : North Korea Daily Telegraph, London — Aug. 24, 2005 When Britain ruled Iraq in the 1920s, there were problems, just as now, in bringing all the ethnic and religious groupings in
• Iraq’s constitution : North Korea
Iraq’s constitution : North Korea
Daily Telegraph, London — Aug. 24, 2005
When Britain ruled Iraq in the 1920s, there were problems, just as now, in bringing all the ethnic and religious groupings in to the political process. At that time it was the Shia Muslims who were left outside – not least because their religious leaders refused to meet face-to-face with Gertrude Bell, the woman who put modern Iraq together.
She had little time for the Shia ayatollahs. “They sit in an atmosphere which reeks of antiquity and is so thick with the dust of ages that you can’t see through it – nor can they.”
Britain’s solution to sweeping away the dust of antiquity was to call in a foreign king from the Hashemite dynasty, whose family ruled until they were massacred in 1958.
This being a new century, and the Americans being in charge of Iraq now, Washington’s solution is a constitution, modeled on the US document that has for more than 200 years set the powers of the states and the central government.
That constitutional process is now in crisis. Far from being the magic lamp that would legitimize leaders installed by American and British bayonets, the constitution is a source of massive discord. Sunni leaders – whose community lost power when Saddam was deposed – say the latest draft will provoke civil war if the Shia majority and the Kurds force it through. The Kurds – who have enjoyed self-rule under the protection of the US Air Force for more than a decade – are threatening to split Iraq unless their autonomy is enshrined in a federal constitution. Not to be outdone, some Shia factions want autonomy in southern Iraq, giving them control of its oil resources. …
The mere fact that the politicians are still talking – albeit behind the protection of American guns – is a sign of hope. The insurgents have no clear plan for Iraq; only the negotiations among Iraqi politicians provide a semblance of a plan for the future. …
So many mistakes have been made that success – the installation of a functioning secular democracy – is out of the question. But we owe it to the Iraqis not to hand them over to the new crop of warlords. What we started we must try to finish.
Yomiuri Shimbun, Tokyo — Aug. 23, 2005
Six-nation talks aimed at scrapping North Korea’s nuclear arms program are expected to resume in Beijing by the end of the month at the earliest.
Dealing with the reclusive state’s nuclear weapons and missile development programs is a matter of grave concern for Japan’s national security.
What are the views of the political parties on this problem? North Korea should be debated as a major issue in each party’s campaign for the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election.
The manifestos released by the major political parties for the upcoming poll all cite North Korea as a major policy issue. However, these election pledges are unsatisfactory in many respects.
Japan would be exposed to a direct nuclear missile threat if North Korea developed a nuclear warhead. This country is within range of North Korean ballistic missiles. None of the manifestos seem to reflect the threat this nation faces. Japan has every reason to urge Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear development program.
It is important for Japan to use its alliance with the United States as a basis for its approach to the North Korean problem. At the same time, however, from a point of view of protecting Japan’s national interest, we consider it important for this country to urge China, South Korea and Russia to behave carefully.…
