My diaries on the war in Iraq (3)
written between March 22, 2003 and March 28, 2003 


I cannot but ask my self, why did we get in this mess, supporting such a foolish war... 

March 22, 2003 (Saturday )
The American Marines were reported to have raised the Stars and Stripes, instead of an Iraqi flag, although it was for a short period of time, when they had secured the new port of Umm-Qasr. The U.K. Secretary of State for Defense Geoffrey Foon, according to the news commented that the soldiers had probably wanted to express their feeling of success after a long and fierce battle, but such deeds should be refrained and that he would call the attention of the U.S. on the matter. The incident shows how Americans are misunderstanding the situation but at the same time reveals the underlying motive.

Cardinal Ratzinger of the Vatican Palace was reported to have criticized the speeches made by President Bush and President Hussein as " truly tragic". The two presidents had both referred to God's name to justify the war.

I am rereading a book by one of my teachers of philosophy, Michitaro TANAKA, entitled " The Time and I " published by Bungei-shunju in 1984. I found an interesting quotation in the chapter " Moral Atmosphere during Times of War".

" Even under democracy, if an inadequate leader or a group of political executives are chosen, the government will immediately turn into a dictatorship of the worst kind. And under such dictatorship, the senseless stupidity will be enforced even more as it reaches the smallest unit of the administrative office, the people will suffer furthermore. Because I could not accept the foolish domestic politics and the war which was the mismanaged outcome of the politics, my stance toward this war was that of opposition."

I feel that the same situation is now happening in the real world. Political folly will again be repeated.

There is another short thesis that Tanaka had written in 1941 entitled " The fall of Sardia". The paper never got to be made public due to the fact that the publishers had put off publishing it. Tanaka had written " In my opinion, the Japanese education, generally speaking, lack the training based on which one can make close examination of what is being reported on the media and criticizing it when needed." In other words, he is talking about the "media literacy" of today. We are bombarded with the news of the war everyday and we feel that we have more information than what we can accept but that does not mean that we can process the information correctly.
The era in which Tanaka had written the paper is explained in his following quotations. "The tightly controlled news of today is an ideal practice drill for learning how to analyze historical materials". If we fail to analyze the information correctly, "we will surely make an error of judgment, which will endanger the country and its politics. What is most required of statesmen is the eyes of criticism that can cover all kinds of news and information."
I can understand why this paper did not get published at that time. I sometimes wonder if the news we see today about the war in Iraq is not controlled also. I am relieved by the small number of deaths reported, but is the number correct?
How can we defend ourselves from those politicians who endanger the country? There is no point in opposing them emotionally. In my opinion, the boycott of U.S. made products that is said to be spreading on the net, is as pointless as spilling expensive French wine on the ground.


March 23, 2003 (Sunday)

Do only soldiers feel scared?

I am irritated by the news I am getting on the Iraqi war here in Japan because they are mostly second hand reports based on the news distributed by the foreign media.
Harlan Ullman who is reported to have proposed the large-scale bombing strategy by the U.S. and England is said to have studied Sun Tzu's famous Chinese classical military strategy book "Art of War." He was quoted as saying that he had Sun Tzu's words of "winning without fighting" in his mind when he had been thinking of the bombing strategy. " The shock and awe will control the stones of the target. The shock will instantly wound the mind and the awe will let the enemy know that they do not have any other option left in the long run."
However one might try, the affects of this "shock and awe" concept of the battle plan cannot be limited to Iraqi soldiers alone; civilians will also be affected. Ullman even goes to say that the successful example of this concept of " shock and awe" was the two nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WWII. "With the two nuclear bombs, the Japanese had undergone a complete change from suicidal resistance to pitiful surrender. This was very surprising." I am surprised that a fellow human being could think in a manner like this.

Prime Minister Koizumi was quoted as saying at the graduation ceremony held at the Defense Academy, that Japan's decision to support the U.S., an important ally of the country is a matter of course. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi, when asked to comment on the request made by the U.S. toward major countries to expel Iraqi ambassadors and to close the Iraqi embassy for the time being, she replied " I will not comment and I will not explain the reason for not commenting." How can one expel an ambassador of a country that has official diplomatic relations? But I am beginning to think that Japan might even do such a thing. To begin with, U.S. has no right to ask a another country to expel an ambassador. I am surprised that the U.S. would ever think about asking such a thing.


March 24, 2003 (Monday)

My son came into my bedroom early in the morning, so tired, that he almost fell asleep in my futon. Almost asleep, his face reminded me of the days when he was a young boy. On his trip to New Zealand, my son chose several books to take with him and the first book he chose was " Kike Wadatsumi no Koe, " memoirs written by students who were killed during the WWII. I had just finished reading my son's report on the memoirs; it made me resolve that I had to do something to make this world a peaceful place, without any war. I want to protect the ones I love so dearly, however this can never be realized by acts of war. Like Prime Minister Mahathir of Malaysia had said, to rule by power is the same as returning to the stone age. Peace cannot be realized by any means of war and conflict.

Pessimists say they cannot do anything about the war that had already started. Optimists hope that they can muddle through this somehow. I cannot support neither. I must do whatever can be done. (In my book " Introduction to Adlerian Psychology", I wrote about this positive stance toward the world, quoting an episode of the two frogs.)

Going over the back numbers of the mail magazine published by Natsuki IKEZAWA, I found an article concerning the " shock and awe" military strategy that I had mentioned in my yesterday's diary. Ikezawa had pointed out that a high military-related official (most likely, we are talking about the same person) had went even further and called this the "Hiroshima Effect."
Ikezawa says, " As fellow Japanese, we cannot and must not let this go unnoticed. It shows that the members of the U.S. armed forces still believe that the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima was a successful strategy. They do not take into account that over 100 thousand people, mostly civilians had died because of it and that the prolonged effects of radiation is still causing pain to so many people."

Prime Minister Koizumi once boastfully commented that "history proves the point that in many cases, it was not right to be swayed by public opinion." I believe that history will verify the words of Mr. Koizumi in the not so far future. Military invasion of Iraq.......I cannot find the right words to explain this act which was taken by ignoring the words opposing war.
Non-fiction writer, Yo HENMI, wrote in his article entitled "Our minds are also being trampled on "(published on Asahi Shimbun on March 22, 2003), that our minds were also being bombed by the armed forces of the U.S. and U.K. " Our hearts are also being crushed by the tanks and being trampled on with combat boots of the soldiers." I agree with him.


March 25, 2003 (Tuesday)

On my way home after my regular lecture at a school in Osaka, I bought a book by Naotake KATO entitled " Moral Philosophy on War " (Chikuma-Shinsho). I had meant to refute what he had written in his book " Moral Philosophy on Child Rearing " (Maruzen Library) but never got to it. Kato stressed that juvenile crime can be traced back to one's upbringing during infantile period. I wrote about this book in my diary dated March 9, 2001. Remembering this, I hesitated at first but decided to buy the book because the title seemed timely.
The word "moral philosophy" in Mr.Kato's book means "rules" of war. The title of the book is itself a contradiction because morals do not exist in war in the first place and Mr. Kato has answered to this question in his book. He stresses that act of war as a retaliation against terrorism is not legitimate under international law. I will write about his book at another occasion.

Shunsuke TSURUMI, a philosopher and one of the leading pacifists in Japan, in his article " On the grounds that one does not want to be killed " published on the evening edition of Asahi Shimbun, March 24, quoted a tanka, a Japanese poem of 31 syllables, written by Zenmaro DOKI, a tanka poet of the Meiji, Taisho and early Showa era His poem is as follows.
" Old wife asked me sadly if I had really believed that the country will win"

Doki was protested against the war during Meiji and Taisho period, however changed his views in Showa and as a journalist supported the war during World War II, giving speeches in favor of the war. However, his wife, who was seeing the world through her quiet eyes of a housekeeper had had her own understanding and opinion about the war. The above mentioned tanka was about what had happened at the Doki's house on August 15, 1945 when Japan surrendered.
Tsurumi article goes on like this. "It may be true that many people lost their energy to eat that night when Japan lost the war. But how many women, mothers and wives, forgot to prepare meals for the family? Their everyday lives went on, just the same as the other ordinary days and in their quiet everyday acts are the very roots of peace movements. Tsurumi adds, "theory alone cannot keep on supporting any antiwar attitude for a long period of time, because it is not rooted in everyday life."
I believe that communication through words in everyday life is also an important factor in realizing peace.

I found an article on asahi com. which carried an interview of a F-18 fighter pilot. The U.S. forces had emphasized that the attacks were pinpointed and that bombs would not be dropped when the target was not clearly visible. But this pilot, Commander Gary Shorman , when asked to comment on the bombing mission, plainly stated keeping a straight face, " If there are people down there, they are the bad guys so, no problem about it."
No problem? I cannot but imagine that President Bush's understanding of the situation is not much different from this commander. The Cluster bombs are not pinpointed. Are the many civilians who get involved in such bombings bad guys, too?


March 26, 2003 (Wednesday)

Wishing is not enough; we have to stop this war. I am not hoping for the U.S. to win this war. Immediate cease-fire is necessary. I am getting so depressed that I am at loss of words. I should have known better. I should have opposed the war much earlier. Its a gross mistake to use cluster bombs and depleted uranium bombs.


March 27, 2003 (Thursday)

The war is now expected to be a long one, but we must not let our determination against war to falter. A death of a person, whether it may be a soldier or a civilian, is a grave tragedy.
Why does the U.S. keep on using depleted uranium bombs? It does not just kill, it will continue to affect the environment and people who live there, even after the war ends.
Prime Minister Koizumi once commented that war is a harsh and cruel act. If he truly believes so, he must not support any war. The Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuda was quoted as saying that they (U.S. and U.K. forces) were trying their best to avoid the situation (in which civilians become involved and killed) but try as they might, accidents happen. " We must remember that Iraqi missiles are deployed near residential areas." What he is saying is that some damages are to be expected. How merciless can one get?

According to asahi.com., an anti-war poster with the words " Peace is Patriotic" was posted on the windows of Senator Max Baucus' home in Washington D.C., a conservative democrat from Montana. It was not the senator's doing but his wife Wanda's. Mrs. Baucus went straight to the point and criticized both President Bush and Senator Baucus by commenting that there were no definite proof of Iraq holding weapons of mass destruction and that the U.S. had no right to carry out a preemptive strike against any country, nor the right to assassinate any country leader. Senator Baucus was quoted as saying that he and his wife Wanda both respect one's own opinion and that they have a strong relationship as a married couple.
This reminded me of the tanka poem written by Zenmaro Doki that I had written a few days earlier. Doki had looked squarely into the eyes of his wife who had quietly opposed the war while Doki himself has supported it. He accepted his wife's ideas as it was. Shunsuke Tsurumi thinks highly of Doki for writing about his wife saying that Doki through this tanka had been able to take his first step as a post-war tanka poet. I cannot but wonder what will happen to Senator Baucus.


March 28, 2003 (Friday)

I wrote about my teacher Michitaro TANAKA in my diary dated March 22. There are words that I cannot accept in his book " The Time and I ", such as " being so soft as to opposing the war because you did not want to die....", "anti-war mood of the society, behaving like a spoilt child...", etc. Shunsuke Tsurumi, on the other hand, sees the bases of opposing the war in this frank feeling of not wanting to be killed. Tsurumi points out that the anti-war demonstrations held today are completely different from the anti-Vietnam war demonstrations held 38years ago. According to Tsurumi, the men (only half in number compared to women participants) that he met at the recently held peace-walk, the first of the kind that Tsurumi had participated, seemed to have been there because they were influenced by women. He even stated that the men seemed to be accepting their role of being lead by women willingly.

I do not agree with Tsurumi's distinction between men and women, however, I would like to see a society in which people could go out and say out loud, " I oppose war because I do not want to die," something that my former teacher would have despised as " opposing the war like a spoilt child".
I wrote about Senator Baucus in my diary yesterday and if he were like those men participating in the peace-walk who, according to Tsurumi, were led by women --- ok, I'd like to change the expression to " men who earnestly listen to women's opinion" --- I seriously believe the world will change for the better. Unfortunately many men would avoid complications by saying such words as " we respect each other," but in truth will not be listening at all from the start. You must realize that the words " democratization of Iraq by use of force" are by themselves meaningless and contradictory.

Being able to demonstrate against the war is the proof that there still exist a true freedom to accept any opinion differences. But hearing that Ms. Mary Mcguire who received the Nobel Peace Prize was arrested, and reading in the news that 150 demonstrators in New York who laid down around Rockefeller Center in protest against attacking Iraq were arrested, I cannot but begin to feel that freedom of expression is endangered.
The so-called "pedestrian's paradise" held every Sundays and national holidays in Ginza, Tokyo where streets are temporarily closed to vehicle traffic, was suddenly called off between March 21 and 23. Tokyo Metropolitan Police indicated several reasons for the decision, which included "avoiding difficulties caused by confusion and disorder from unexpected demonstrations." This, in my opinion, is a sign of danger.

The Iraqi war will take more time than it was first expected. The coverage of the war, as always, will be less in number as the days wear on and people will become indifferent. But this must be avoided at all cost. I was surprised to see that the day-time variety news shows are already bringing the suicide of an 45-year-old actor to the top of the news list.
The recent edition of the comic magazine "Morning" carried a lampoon cartoon of "Tama-chan", the seal that has wondered into the rivers of Tokyo metropolitan area. Some company had invented a machine that can translate the seal's grunts and barks into human words. Everyone looked on in anticipation, expecting Tama-chan to say that it wanted to go back to the northern seas, however, to everyone's amazement, the display showed these following words. " I hope the people in Iraq will be able to live in peace." 

Posted: 日 - 1月 4, 2004 at 12:37 午後          

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