On August 27th, LDP Secretary-General Taku Yamasaki and the Secretary-Generals of the other two ruling coalition parties met in the Diet with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage. In explaining the U.S. position on Iraq, Deputy Secretary of State Armitage emphasized that "although definite plans have not yet been formulated," the use of American military force remains a possibility. In response to this, Secretary-General Yamasaki explained that "It would be difficult to apply the Special Counter-Terrorism Law"1 to [military] action taken against Iraq. Isn't it necessary to secure peace in the Middle East first? Without peace in the Middle East, [military] action against Iraq may provoke negative reactions throughout the Arab world and create a very difficult situation."
|
