Cablegate: Tokyo Media Reaction - Iraq and Us-Dprk

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UNCLAS TOKYO 004114

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR,
EAP/J, EAP/P, PM;
USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE;
TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI;
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA;
CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE;
PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA
SUBJECT: TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - IRAQ AND US-DPRK
NUCLEAR TALKS

LEAD STORIES: Top stories on Wednesday morning include
the resignation on Tuesday of a ruling LDP member from
the Upper House over a campaign violation in the recent
election.

1. "How to Get out of Iraq Quagmire" The liberal Tokyo
Shimbun editorialized (9/5): "The Maliki government is
facing a crisis following a number of suicide bombings
and a series of resignations of cabinet ministers.
Although the Bush administration is looking at scaling
back the US presence in Iraq, Washington should not
foist all the responsibility for the current quagmire
there on the Iraqi government.... Four and a half years
have passed since the start of the war, and President
Bush has been unable to restore public security in Iraq
despite the deployment of additional US troops.... The
president's surprise visit on Monday to Iraq's Anbar
Province, where public order has improved, appears to
be aimed at seeking a troop reduction prior to the 2008
presidential election by stressing the positive results
produced by the surge. Major terrorist attacks,
however, are continuing all over Iraq, and the number
of Iraqi victims is unlikely to decline. In the US,
calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Maliki are
growing among lawmakers from the Democratic Party. The
Maliki administration is a legitimate government
elected by the people of Iraq. The US, which launched
this unjustified war, has likely come to realize the
limits to its ability to control a nation by force
alone. Washington therefore has no choice but to
support the Maliki administration."

2. "Complete Denuclearization Imperative" The liberal
Mainichi wrote in an editorial (9/5): "The US and the
DPRK agreed during their recent bilateral working-group
meeting in Geneva that Pyongyang will disable its
nuclear facilities and declare all of its nuclear
programs by the end of the year.... We hope that North
Korea will keep its word and move toward irreversible
denuclearization by completely abolishing its nuclear
facilities.... The agreement is questionable, however,
as North Korea has claimed that Washington promised to
delist it as a state sponsor of terrorism. Although the
US dismissed the idea that this will happen anytime
soon, it is clear that Washington is considering
delisting the DPRK in the future.... Delisting North
Korea is an important card that can be used to settle
the various issues involving that country. The US must
play this card carefully in order to realize
denuclearization with no loopholes...."

DONOVAN

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