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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