Interview on Tokyo Broadcasting System International with Shigenori
Kanehira
Secretary Colin L. Powell Washington, DC April 15, 2004
MR. KANEHIRA: Thank you so much, Secretary. We just received the good news from Baghdad that three Japanese civilian hostages have been released in Baghdad.
SECRETARY POWELL: Yes.
MR. KANEHIRA: What is your reaction?
SECRETARY POWELL: I'm very pleased. I was very worried about the Japanese hostages and I'm so pleased that they have been released and they are safe.
MR. KANEHIRA: However, the group that
took the four Italian hostages, they are taking as four Italian hostages. I'm
sorry. However, that group that took four Italian captives claimed that it
killed one of the hostages because Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi rejected
its demands that he withdraw Italian troops.
It seems to me that both Prime Minister
Koizumi and Berlusconi reacted in the same way. What do you think of the
different outcome -- the reason for different outcome?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, I don't know. We
don't know who these criminals are who are holding hostages, and we regret that
one of the four Italian hostages was killed.
The important point here is that both
Prime Minister Koizumi and Prime Minister Berlusconi realize you can't give in
to terror, you can't allow yourself to be put at the mercy of
terrorists.
We regret any hostage situation. Nobody
wants to imagine what it would be like for a member of their family to be taken
hostage, and we will do everything we can to rescue these people.
But you must not give in to the
hostage-taker. You must not say, "Oh, it's okay, we will now do what you want."
Because they will just place new demands on you.
The civilized world must stand against
this kind of activity, and I am pleased that Prime Minister Koizumi, Prime
Minister Berlusconi, President Bush, President Blair and other leaders have the
courage to stand up against this kind of threat from terrorists.
MR. KANEHIRA: In the history of the modern nation, it is said every government has an obligation to protect their own citizens. Some people in Japan are saying that those who are kidnapped are willing to take risk and they were expected to assume the responsibility for their own act. What is your comment?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, everybody should
understand the risk they are taking by going into dangerous areas. But if
nobody was willing to take a risk, then we would never move forward. We would
never move our world forward.
And so I'm pleased that these Japanese
citizens were willing to put themselves at risk for a greater good, for a
better purpose. And the Japanese people should be very proud that they have
citizens like this willing to do that, and very proud of the soldiers that you
are sending to Iraq that they are willing to take that risk.
But even when, because of that risk, they
get captured, it doesn't mean we can say, "Well, you took the risk. It's your
fault." No, we still have an obligation to do everything we can to recover them
safely and we have an obligation to be deeply concerned about them. They are
our friends. They are our neighbors. They are our fellow citizens.
MR. KANEHIRA: According to the latest information, Usama bin Laden sent an audiotape with the intention to divide the coalition of European countries with current security situation increasingly unstable. What are the implications for the United States?
SECRETARY POWELL: Well, he is exactly
what we have told the world he is -- a terrorist -- and we have to reject any
demands that come from him. You can't negotiate with Usama bin Laden. He is a
terrorist. He is a murderer. And he must be seen as that and he must be brought
to justice.
And I hope that, because of this tape
today, the world will once again see him for what he is and come together even
more strongly than we have in the past in this common fight against
terrorism.
MR. KANEHIRA: The last question. I read
through your biography, My American Journey. It's very impressed. And your
government scoffed at the comparison between Iraq and Vietnam that have been
made. However, increasingly, the American media is making a comparison and the
American public are more and more seeing the similarities.
And even if it is a false comparison, as
the Administration argues, what is the danger of this perception perpetuating
in reality if a complete exit strategy is not soon discovered?
SECRETARY POWELL: We do have a strategy.
And what makes Iraq different from Vietnam or any other conflict is that it's
Iraq, not Vietnam; it's Iraq, not Lebanon. It's Iraq.
And we have a clear strategy of what we're
trying to achieve in Iraq. The first goal we had was to remove a regime, an
evil regime, a dictator. He's gone. We did that. We accomplished it. So there's
no confusion about our mission there, and we accomplished that
mission.
The next mission was to build a democracy,
to put in place a functioning democracy in Iraq that its people could be proud
of, and a country that would live in peace with its neighbors. We are working
on that objective now. And we have put in a great deal of money. We have put in
a large number of soldiers. We have brought in the UN. We have brought in many
nations to help us.
And so we are going to achieve that goal,
too. We have not lost sight of our goal. We know what our objective is and we
are applying the resources to that objective. And we will be
successful.
MR. KANEHIRA: Thank you so much.
2004/409
[End]
Released on April 15, 2004
↓ このように変わりますた
TBS（＝使用後）
米国務長官「３人を誇りに思うべき」
アメリカのパウエル国務長官はＪＮＮの単独インタビューに応じ、人質となった３人について、「イラクの人々のために、危険を冒して、現地入りする市民がいることを日本は誇りに思うべきだ」と語りました。
ＪＮＮとの単独会見に応じたパウエル国務長官は３人が解放されたニュースを聞いて、「とても喜んでいます。日本人人質のことを心配していたので、無事解放され、とてもうれしい」と語りました。
また、パウエル長官は日本人人質とは反対にイタリア人民間人１人が殺害されたことに弔意を表すとともに、日本、イタリアの両首相が誘拐グループの部隊撤退要求に応じなかったことを高く評価しました。
「大切なことは小泉総理も、イタリアのベルルスコーニ首相も『テロに屈してはならない』と言っているということです。テロリストの言いなりになってはいけない。人質の状況は気の毒に思います。家族が人質になるとは誰も思っていません。私たちは人質の救出に全力を注ぎますが、犯人に屈してはいけません。『何でも言うことを聞く』などと言ってはいけません。彼らは新たな要求をしてくるだけです。文明世界はこうした動きに立ち向かわなければならないのです」（パウエル国務長官）
さらに日本の一部で、人質になった民間人に対して、「軽率だ、自己責任をわきまえろ」などという批判が出ていることに対して、「全ての人は危険地域に入るリスクを理解しなければなりません。しかし、危険地域に入るリスクを誰も引き受けなくなれば、世界は前に進まなくなってしまう。彼らは自ら危険を引き受けているのです。ですから、私は日本の国民が進んで、良い目的のために身を呈したことをうれしく思います。日本人は自ら行動した国民がいることを誇りに思うべきです。また、イラクに自衛隊を派遣したことも誇りに思うべきです。彼らは自ら危険を引き受けているのです。たとえ彼らが危険を冒したために人質になっても、それを責めてよいわけではありません。私たちには安全回復のため、全力を尽くし、それに深い配慮を払う義務があるのです。彼らは私たちの友人であり、隣人であり、仲間なのです。」と述べています。
パウエル国務長官のこの発言は自己責任論を強調する日本政府の見方とは著しい対照ぶりをみせています。アメリカ政府は有志連合の結束に影響が出ることを警戒していますが、アメリカ人、民間人をターゲットにした誘拐事件が今後も頻発すれば、世論にも大きな影響が出るものとみられ、イラク情勢は予断を許さない状況が続きそうです。（16日
16:26）
http://news.tbs.co.jp/20040416/newseye/tbs_newseye944100.html
