Written by: Beck
A band of Iraqis have taken three Japanese civilians hostage, saying that they will burn the hostages alive if Japanese soldiers don't pull out of Iraq.
Of all the countries to pick on, why oh why did these fools decide to choose the one country engaged only in giving humanitarian aid? The Japanese Self Defense Forces (SDF) are not allowed to engage in military activity outside of Japan. It's in their constitution. Japan decided to send a contingent to Iraq so that their soldiers could at least get some practice at working outside of Japan, but thanks to their constitutional constraints, humanitarian aid is the only thing they CAN do. And the Iraqis want them out.
Not surprisingly, the three who are to be burned to death were also involved in charitable activity. The Japanese government is
understandably worried, especially since they're going to have to rely on the US and others for any sort of rescue attempt. Nonetheless,
Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi has said on no uncertain terms that the SDF will not pull out of Iraq. At least someone has learned the lesson terrorists taught in Spain about the efficacy of appeasement.
In a tangential discussion, Tech Central Station
has an article about appeasement and why it's a fatal mistake.