Withdrawal
Although Defense Agency officials initially denied a report that the JSDF would be withdrawing from Iraq, they eventually confirmed that the contingent would leave Iraq by March 2006. Officials, however, subsequently insisted that any withdrawal would hinge on the ability of the Iraqis to form a new government by the end of 2006. A united Iraqi government was established in May 2006, and Koizumi subsequently announced that forces could be withdrawn as early as the end of July given the completion of the mission.
Koizumi announced on June 20, 2006 that the Japanese contingent would be withdrawn within 'several dozen days', however he suggested expanding airborne logistical support from southern parts of the country to Baghdad in place of the ground force.
On June 25, the first batch of the 600-member contingent began to withdraw from Samawah to Kuwait. The last 220 troops left Iraq by July 18.
Although all Japanese soldiers have left Iraq, JASDF forces continue to play a minor support role. As of November 2006, JASDF transport aircraft were assisting coalition forces by airlifting materials and personnel between Iraq and Kuwait. The airlift mission was extended until July 31, 2007, at which point it was extended again for another two years. As of November 26, 2008, 671.1 tons of supplies have been transported since March 2004.
On April 17, 2008, Nagoya High Court ruled that dispatch of troops was partly unconstitutional.
Due to rising anti-Iraq war sentiment from the opposition, the Japanese government announced it JASDF forces in Kuwait would withdraw soon, though it was announced that the withdrawal was due to the improving security situation and the nearing expiration of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1790, which allows multinational forces to stay in Iraq until December 2008. The last JASDF forces left Kuwait on December 18, 2008.
Read more about this topic: Japanese Iraq Reconstruction And Support Group
Famous quotes containing the word withdrawal:
“A bizarre sensation pervades a relationship of pretense. No truth seems true. A simple morning’s greeting and response appear loaded with innuendo and fraught with implications.... Each nicety becomes more sterile and each withdrawal more permanent.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
“A separation situation is different for adults than it is for children. When we were very young children, a physical separation was interpreted as a violation of our inalienable rights....As we grew older, the withdrawal of love, whether that meant being misunderstood, mislabeled or slighted, became the separation situation we responded to.”
—Roger Gould (20th century)