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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CYBERKEN who wrote (532016)	1/29/2004 12:33:58 PM
From: Mr. Palau	Respond to of 769670

Coalition of the willingly guarded. Japan Reportedly Paying Y10 Billion (75,052,849 EUR) to Iraqis to Guard SDF 2004-01-26 \| TOKYO — The Japanese government is reportedly paying approximately 10 billion yen to Iraqi tribal leaders to provide bodyguards for the Self-defense Forces in Iraq. A spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office said: "It is rather cheap if we can buy security for our soldiers with that amount of money. In Iraq, oil money is distributed to those tribes. It is more important for the Japanese government to make one-time payments to the leaders than to pay them a salary. That will help their local economy and benefit Japan's foreign policy toward new Iraq." The first contingent of Ground Self Defense Forces is already in Samawah in southern Iraq. The main force is scheduled to be sent either at the end of January or in early February. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's main concern has been how to protect the lives of the SDF soldiers. One of the measures that the government initially took was to have Dutch forces guard the SDF. Last year, Abdul Amir Rikaabi, the powerful leader of an Iraqi tribe, visited Japan and Koizumi made a confidential agreement with him in which Japan would pay a huge amount of money in exchange for protection, according to a source in the Prime Minister's Office. "Mr Rikaabi told us that he would organize 200 to 300 guards to protect Japan's SDF soldiers until the main unit arrived in Samawah. The SDF will construct their camps within double barbed wire entanglements in the suburbs of Samawah and engage in supplying water to the city. The Iraqi guards will provide 24-hour patrols and in the event of a terrorist attack, Dutch troops will help out," said the source. One source in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "The leaders of tribes in Samawah are requesting salaries for their soldiers. If they are killed on duty, they will demand compensation for their deaths. The Japanese government has to donate $1 million in advance for such compensation. "However, the Defense Agency does not have such a budget. The government will have to use discretionary funds allocated for the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The advance Self Defense Forces have been given such discretionary funds by the Prime Minister's Office." (Shukan Post) Article republished, courtesy of Japan Today: japantoday.com Please also see: Japan stakes its claim to Iraqi oil and gas wsws.org Japan provides urgently required $6 million in emergency assistance to Palestinians undp.org