Japan may ask U.S. to watch over ASDF

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20031127a1.htm

Japan might ask the U.S. military to watch over its Air Self-Defense Force planes when they use Baghdad International Airport.
Some government and ruling coalition officials are suggesting that Japan should deploy ASDF planes to Iraq before dispatching its ground troops due to security concerns, government sources said Wednesday. Japan would like U.S. military helicopters to patrol the area around the airport, they said.

Under the plan being considered, Japan will deploy three of the ASDF's C-130 transport planes to carry support materials for the U.S. military mainly from Kuwait to the Baghdad airport, located about 500 km north.

The U.S. has maintained air control over and around the Baghdad airport since the end of the war on Iraq.

But Tokyo believes it is essential to secure the safety of the ASDF planes in the approach to and departure from the airport, the sources said. U.S. military helicopters and civilian cargo aircraft have recently become targets of ground-to-air missile attacks.

<snip>

Is it just me, or is Japan saying "If it breaks, you buy it?"

[NNN0LHI]

1. Rumsfeld is asked "will our planes be shot at with SAMS"?

He answers "you bet".

Don

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. Um...

why the FUCK are we asking Japan to send troops to Iraq, anyway? Doesn't that constitute inducement to treaty violation, technically? After all, the treaty ending WWII in the Pacific mandated that Japan henceforth have no military; that it only be allowed "self-defence" forces for the purpose of defending the Japanese Home Islands...NOT for going to the sands of Iraq to help the US out of a fix.

Strange fucking world we live in.

[Kitsune]

3. Not just a treaty

It's in Japan's Constitution as well.

I really don't understand how the hell Koizumi is getting away with this.

[Don Claybrook]

4. I didn't know their keyboards were the same as ours

Sorry, couldn't resist. :)

[54anickel]

5. ROFLMAO

I had to take a second look to figure out what the hell you were talking about.

:think: