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★阿修羅♪
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●あっしらさんが、下記のような記事とコメントを提供して下さいました。
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【市街地で使うとしたら米軍】 イラク、市街戦で化学兵器使用も…米紙報道 ［読売新聞］
http://www.asyura.com/2003/war24/msg/155.html
WA24 155 2003/2/17 03:14:48
投稿者: あっしら
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【ニューヨーク＝勝田誠】１６日付米紙ニューヨーク・タイムズは、複数の米国防総省当局者の話として、対イラク攻撃が始まった際、イラクがバグダッド市街戦で化学兵器を使用する可能性があると報じた。
同紙によると、バグダッド防衛を担当する共和国防衛隊の一部には、生物化学兵器使用を想定した防毒マスクがすでに配備されているという。またバグダッド市内の治安部隊、情報部員も同様のマスクを配備されており、米軍は「米軍または同盟軍に対し、毒ガス、細菌兵器を使おうとする兆候」と見ているという。
このほか、米情報当局は、イラクが、毒ガスや細菌を弾頭に積んだスカッド・ミサイルをイスラエルに撃ち込む恐れもあると見ているという。
(2月17日00:53)
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★ 首都をはじめとした市街地でイラク軍が生物化学兵器を使うことはないでしょう。
市民にまで防御用マスクを配ったとしても、軍隊を含めた活動維持基盤が損なわれることになります。
また、米軍が生物化学兵器防御を行っていることも知っているので、効果を期待しないはずです。
さらに、国際世論の追い風を受けているフセイン政権が、一気に悪魔視されてしまう兵器を使うことも考えられません。
生物化学兵器は、市街戦であれば、“土足で武器を持ってよその家に入り込んだ”部隊が使うものです。
イラク軍が生物化学兵器の防御を図っているのは、米軍が、イラクが使用したと陥れるためであったり、地域に生存する人たちをごっそり殺戮するために、生物化学兵器を使うのではないかと恐れているからでしょうね。
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● 補足させて頂きますと、この読売新聞記事のURLは下記の通りです。
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/05/20030216id27.htm
また、記事の中で言及されている『ニューヨーク・タイムズ』の記事は
次のもの［↓］です。 （この長大な記事のほんの一部をパクって記事もどきを
ちゃっちゃとデッチ上げ、日本に送ってきた讀賣の特派員と、それを
チェックせずにやすやすと紙面に載せる編集局は、とぉ〜〜〜っても
恥ずかしいですな。［苦笑］）
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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/international/middleeast/16IRAQ.html
Iraq Said to Plan Strategy of Delay and Urban Battle
【イラクは市街戦による陥落の先延ばしを計画しているらしい】
By MICHAEL R. GORDON
ASHINGTON, Feb. 15 ・Iraq's strategy to thwart a United States-led attack calls for slowing advances by American troops toward Baghdad and then confronting them with the prospect of a bloody street battle in the Iraqi capital, according to American intelligence.
To impede American and allied forces, Saddam Hussein's administration has developed plans to blow up dams, destroy bridges and ignite its oil fields, United States Defense Department officials say. They say Iraq may also deny food to Iraqi civilians in the southern parts of the country to try to create a crisis that would saddle advancing allied forces with the responsibility of caring for millions of desperate Iraqi civilians.
Once American and allied forces approach Baghdad, they will encounter two defensive rings of elite Republican Guard forces, the Defense Department officials say. Many of the Republican Guard forces are now dispersed, a move that is intended to help them survive the airstrikes that would open the allied campaign. But as allied ground forces approach Baghdad, the Iraqis are expected to rush to fighting positions that have already been stocked with ammunition and supplies.
Some Republican Guard units are equipped with chemical protective gear, as are Special Republican Guard units and some intelligence and security forces inside Baghdad, according to intelligence reports. This is one of several signs that have led American officials to conclude that Iraq will try to use poison gas or germ weapons against the American and allied forces.
【諜報報告書によれば、共和国特別防衛隊やバグダッド内の若干の諜報・保安部隊など、共和国防衛隊の中には化学兵器防護用具を備えているものもある。米国の官僚は、米軍ひきいる連合軍に対してイラクが毒ガスや細菌兵器の使用を試みるつもりだと結論づけているが、その根拠となった二、三の兆候のうちのひとつが、こうした動向なのである。】
American intelligence officials have also concluded that it is likely that Iraq will try to strike Israel with Scud missiles, which they said could be armed with poison gas or germ warheads. "We have indications that their goal is to delay, impede and deny U.S. forces a clear and quick victory," a defense official said. "The basic strategy can be summed up as disperse, absorb and move to military operations in urban terrain."
As the United States, Britain, Australia and other members of President Bush's "coalition of the willing" prepare for military action to topple Mr. Hussein, American intelligence is working hard to figure out Iraq's intentions. American officials say Iraq's deployments and even statements by Mr. Hussein provide an indication of Baghdad's strategy.
Senior American military officials say they are aware of Iraq's options and are still confident of achieving a decisive victory and of avoiding a prolonged war. Allied ground forces are far better trained and equipped than Iraqi troops, and allied air forces already command the skies.
Iraq's army is about a third the size it was during the Persian Gulf war of 1991. There are mounting indications that the morale within Iraq's regular army and even some of the Republican Guard forces is low. Mr. Hussein faces multiple threats: one from the American-led invasion force and another from a restive Shiite population and perhaps some elements of his armed forces that would rather try a coup than see the United States invade and occupy the country. "At the end of the day, if called on, win we will," said Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the head of the United States Central Command, said in an interview.
Iraq, however, is striving to take a weak hand and make the best of it. Its objective is much different than it was in the 1991 conflict. During that war, Iraq's goal was to hold on to Kuwait, and it positioned the bulk of its ground forces far from its capital.
But this time, Mr. Hussein has one overriding goal: survival. His aim seems to be to force the Bush administration to seek a political compromise that stops short of toppling his administration by spurring fears of extensive allied casualties, dragging out the war and raising concern around the world over the fate of Iraqi civilians.
"There is no victory option for Iraq," said Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, a retired marine and former chief of the United States Central Command. "The question for Iraq is how to prolong the conflict. For Saddam, the goal is to inflict casualties and allow the Arab news networks to broadcast pictures of civilians dying. He will try to gather international support and try to find a place in history."
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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/international/middleeast/16IRAQ.html?pagewanted=2
(Page 2 of 3)
An American defense official said: "What lessons have they learned from the last war? They have learned that the possession of weapons of mass destruction is a force multiplier even if they are not used. And they have learned that they should not deploy forces out in the open but disperse them and then move into urban terrain and intermingle with the civilian population."
●●Slowing the Allied Advance
Drawing on its experience during the gulf war, Iraq is not mounting a major defense of its borders. But it is taking several steps to try to bog down American and allied forces as they try to advance to Baghdad. Defense Department officials said Iraq had shipped rail cars full of ammunition and demolition equipment to its oil fields. That spurred concerns that Iraq planned to blow them up to hamper the invasion and portray it as an economic and environmental catastrophe.
United States officials said Iraq had also considered plans to destroy dams and flood the Euphrates River, a move that could make it more difficult for forces to cross the river, slowing an offensive. Iraq's 11th Infantry Division has been stationed near the city of Nasiriya, where it can try to put down a Shiite rebellion in the city and guard the crossing points over the river. Iraq has also moved some light infantry and artillery south to the Basra area.
"If hostilities begin, Saddam is likely to employ a `scorched earth' strategy, destroying food, transportation, energy and other infrastructures, attempting to create a humanitarian disaster significant enough to stop a military advance," Vice Adm. Lowell E. Jacoby, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told Congress this week. He said the Iraqis would try to blame American forces for the damage.
Iraq is also positioning surface-to-surface missiles. Iraq has placed Al Samoud missiles north and west of Baghdad. American intelligence believes that the missile can travel much farther than the 90-mile range that is allowed by the United Nations. Iraq has also placed Ababil-50 and Ababil-100 missiles and Soviet-designed Frog rockets north of the capital. Defense Department officials say the missiles have been put in place both to strengthen Iraq's defenses in the north and to threaten population centers like Kirkuk and Mosul if they fall into the hands of American or Kurdish forces.
To threaten Kuwait and American forces there, Iraq has also deployed mobile missile systems in the south near Basra. On Tuesday, American and British planes attacked an Ababil-100 mobile missile system there, and on Wednesday they hit another. Those missile deployments, as well as the deployment of an antiship missile launcher near Basra that was attacked last month, showed an escalation in Iraqi preparations.
American intelligence reports that Mr. Hussein has authorized his commanders to use chemical and perhaps biological weapons. It is difficult for intelligence experts to determine if the munitions being sent to Iraqi forces have chemical or conventional warheads. But American intelligence has noted that protective gear against chemical attack has been given to Special Republican Guard forces as well as intelligence and security personnel charged with defending Baghdad and other cities. It has been given to some Republican Guard units outside Baghdad as well.
United States intelligence agencies have concluded that Iraq will try to use chemical weapons against American forces. The intelligence agencies believe that Iraq has a small covert supply of long-range Scud missiles, which can be equipped with chemical or biological warheads. The intelligence agencies believe it is likely that Iraq will try to fire them at Israel in an effort to portray the war as a battle with an American and Israeli coalition and build support in the Arab world.
●●Defending Baghdad
It is in Baghdad, however, where Mr. Hussein's administration is expected to make its last stand. A city of 4.5 million, it is a potential urban battleground where Iraq has its best command and control and most loyal forces. The Pentagon has received reports that the city is stockpiling food, apparently preparing for a long siege. The approaches to Baghdad are protected by three Republican Guard divisions: the Medina to the south, Al Nida to the east and the Hammurabi to the west. The Republican Guard is considered Iraq's most capable and loyal force.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/international/middleeast/16IRAQ.html?pagewanted=3
(Page 3 of 3)
Mr. Hussein has kept regular army forces far from Baghdad, because he does not trust their loyalty and they are not deemed to be very effective. A brigade from the Third Armored Division, however, has been stationed for months at Ramadi, on a western approach to the capital.
To defend Baghdad, the Republican Guard units are establishing two defensive rings: the first is about 50 miles from Baghdad, and the second is on the outskirts of the capital. The use of defensive rings is part of a long-established Iraqi strategy, one that Iraq employed to protect Basra during its war with Iran and that Mr. Hussein talked about in a January speech to top military commanders.
Defense Department officials say that Iraq's defenses consist of fortified fighting positions, including dug-in emplacements for tanks and other heavy equipment. Iraq is not constructing long defensive lines or trenches as it did during the 1991 war. This appears to be part of Iraq's plan to ride out the American and allied airstrikes.
Having experienced 43 days of bombing leading up to the 1991 gulf war and four days of day and night bombing during the 1998 campaign ordered by the Clinton administration, Iraqi forces have considerable experience with American air power. Because of that, Iraq has dispersed its tanks and other heavy weapons. Some military equipment is also positioned near schools and mosques in an effort to shield them from attack.
Iraq's strategy seems to be to absorb the initial round of American airstrikes and then rush its forces to their fighting positions outside Baghdad before allied forces arrive. In terms of air defense, many batteries of antiaircraft artillery have been placed in Baghdad. The Iraqi military is constantly moving its mobile surface-to-air missile systems in an effort to elude American attack.
●●Fighting in the Streets
A central question, however, is whether Mr. Hussein will pull the Republican Guard divisions inside Baghdad as the Americans and their allies close in. Traditionally, only the Special Republican Guard and Iraq's intelligence and security services are allowed inside the capital, a precaution against coup attempts.
"To fight effectively in the city, he will have to pull important elements of the Republican Guard inside," a defense official said. "But he will be extremely reluctant to do so until the last moment, since they can be as much a threat to him."
Perhaps the main factor is not the number of Iraqi troops nor their specific tactics: it may come down to the Iraqi military's will to fight against a technologically superior and better trained adversary. American intelligence officials believe that the morale of Iraq's regular army forces is low and on the decline. Even the morale of some Republican Guard units is suffering, officials say.
Much will depend on whether Iraq's generals conclude that Mr. Hussein is going to fall, on how they assess their chances of surviving the fighting, and on what place they might secure in a postwar Iraq.
"We expect some resistance from the Republican Guard," a Defense Department official said. "From the regular army, we expect very little."
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●この読売新聞の報道内容については、英国「インディペンデント」紙に気になる報道がありました。
米軍はイラク侵攻の際に、イラクの一般市民に対して、米軍内では「鎮静剤」（だまらせグスリ）と呼ばれている「非致死性兵器」のガス弾などを使う予定だそうです。
「非致死性」とは名ばかりで、下記の記事にもあるように、昨秋のモスクワ劇場占拠事件でロシア特殊部隊が「非致死性」の“鎮静剤”ガスを使って観客の「大量殺戮」をやらかしたことは記憶に新しいところです。
そもそも生物化学兵器は、米国では主に第二次大戦中、日本軍による生物化学戦に対応するために研究開発と配備が進められたのでしたが、原爆で戦争が終結したあと、軍備を維持するために「火器などよりも人道的な兵器だ」というペテン的なキャンペーンを張って、予算を獲得してきた経緯があります。（一方で、冷戦中に核爆弾はむやみに恐怖を煽るかたちで一種の“心理兵器”として利用された側面もあります。）
要するに、対人殺傷兵器に「人道的かどうか」とか、無能力化剤に「致死性でないから安全」などという能書きを垂れることが、すでにタチの悪いペテンなわけで、それをうっかり信じるとモスクワの悲劇のようなことが簡単に起きてしまうわけでしょう。
たとえば昨日の国際反戦デモでも、米国のコロラド・スプリングズなどで“暴徒鎮圧用”のガス剤が使われたようですが、1960〜70年代の日本の学生叛乱や反戦デモでもこうした催涙剤などが頻繁に使われ、重篤な皮膚障害や後遺症をこうむった人も少なくないわけです。
●米国がガス兵器を使って民衆を攻撃する、という計画は、すでにイラクでも報道されていると思います。
米軍がそういう「計画」を明らかにしている以上、（とりあえず中枢的な防衛部隊だけでも）ガスマスクなどの防備を整えるのは当然のことでしょう。そういう動きを「イラクはガスマスクなどを用意しているから毒ガスを市街戦で用いるつもりだ」というのはメチャクチャな論法です。だったら米国は「オレンジ凶災」レベルの警告で自国民をパニックのおとしいれて“備え”をさせているのは、アメリカ各地で米軍自作自演の生物化学戦争でも行なうからなのですかね。（苦笑）
あるいはイスラエルが早くから大量破壊兵器を装備し、今回も市民へのガスマスク配給などを急いで行なったのは、あの泥棒国家を自衛するためでなく、どさくさにまぎれて国内に毒ガスでも撒いて、パレスチナ“ゲットー”の被害者住民たちに“ホロコースト”でも行なうことを企てているのでしょうか……。
●「非致死性」という名目であれ、そして「戦時下」という状況であれ（……しかしテメエで侵略しておいて「戦時下」もないですなあ、これが許されれば「戦時下です、お命頂戴します」という殺し文句の押し込み強盗が増えそうだワ［苦笑］）、一般市民に「鎮圧用」のガス兵器を用いるのは言語道断、鬼畜の蛮行です。
もし米国がこういうことを実際に行なったら、米国こそ世界最悪の「ならずもの国家」だということを自ら実証することになる。我々は米国をこう呼ばねばなりますまい――「USA……Unreasonable State of Apes」（お猿の合醜国）！
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英国 Independent
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=378740
US plan to use illegal weapons
【米国は違法な兵器類の使用を計画している】
By Severin Carrell
16 February 2003
While American forces invading Iraq face the threat of chemical attack, they could themselves be using biochemical agents which are banned under international law.
【米軍はイラク侵攻の際に化学兵器による反撃を受ける恐れがあるが、彼ら米軍とてイラク軍同様、国際法で禁じられている生物化学兵器を用いる恐れがある。】
The US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, revealed earlier this month that American forces are planning to use "non-lethal" biochemical weapons such as anti-riot gases and crowd control agents if they invade Iraq. Mr Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee they were preparing to ask President George Bush for permission to use these weapons, known in military circles as "calmatives", on Iraqi civilians, in cave systems or to take prisoners.
【米国のラムズフェルド国防長官は今月初めに、米軍はイラク侵攻を行なう際には暴動鎮圧ガスや群衆抑圧剤などの「非致死性」兵器を使うつもりだ、と表明した。ラムズフェルド長官とマイヤーズ統合参謀本部議長は下院軍事委員会で、軍の内部で「鎮静剤」と呼ばれているこの種の兵器をイラクの一般市民に使うことができるよう、ブッシュ大統領の許可を得る準備をしているところだと証言した。】
But two of Britain's leading authorities on chemical weapons, Professor Alistair Hay and Professor Julian Perry-Robinson, who are collaborating on an expert guide for the World Health Organisation, said such weapons are illegal under the 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention and the 1928 Geneva Protocol, which ban the use of chemical agents against people in wartime.
【だが英国の化学兵器分野の指導的専門家で、WHOの委託を受けて化学兵器に関する専門的な案内書を執筆したこともあるアリステア・ヘイ教授とジュリアン・ペリー・ロビンソン教授は、米国が使おうとしている「非致死性」兵器も、化学兵器を戦時下の人々に使うことを禁じた1992年化学兵器禁止条約と1928年ジュネーヴ議定書に違反していると指摘する。】
"It would be absolutely outrageous if they did this," said Prof Hay, an epidemiologist at Leeds University. "Surely this war against Iraq is to stop the use of those weapons, not about also using them."
【米国がそんなことを行なえば絶対的な無法者になってしまいますよ」と、リーズ大学の疫学者であるヘイ教授は語る。「なにしろイラクを相手に戦争しようとしているのは、そうした兵器の使用をやめさせるためなんでしょ。だったらイラクに使うのだってダメですよ。」】
The dangers of such weapons were exposed, the experts said, when Russian special forces used an opiate-based crowd control gas, with devastating consequences, on Chechen rebels holding theatregoers hostage in Moscow in October. Both men said Mr Rumsfeld's comments also threatened to put the Pentagon on a collision course with Britain.
【こうした兵器の危険性はすでに“実証済み”である。昨年10月にモスクワの劇場がチェチェンのゲリラ集団に占拠され、観客が人質に取られる事件が起きたが、このときロシアの特殊部隊は犯人たちに麻薬を主剤とするこの種の兵器を用いて惨害を引き起こした。ふたりの教授はこの事例を挙げながら、ラムズフェルドの“イラク市民に向けた生物化学兵器の使用計画”発言によってペンタゴンと英国が激突する恐れが出てきたと指摘する。】
Ministry of Defence experts have repeatedly warned their US counterparts that their proposed use of these weapons in warfare is illegal.
【英国国防省の専門家たちは、これまでも米国の国防省に対して、こうした兵器の戦時使用を提唱するのは違法行為になると繰り返し警告してきた。】
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● さて、サダムのトップリング（イラク国家のギロチンリンチ）は、もっか小ブッシュを支えている（というか操っている）シオニスト犯罪勢力に連なるゴロツキ政治屋どもが５年まえに画策してクリントンに圧力をかけていたことが判明していますが（というか公然の秘密ですが）、“小猿のお座敷犬”などと笑いものにされているブレア首相が、こんどは「サダムのトップリングは人類愛の行為」などと言い出しているようです。こんなことを言ってもマザーテレサのような尊敬は得られないのに、人は追いつめられるとトンでもなく滑稽な偽善を口にするものですね。
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英国 Independent
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=378745
Overthrowing Saddam would be an act of humanity, says Blair
【サダム・フセイン政権の転覆は人類愛にもとづいた行為です、とブレア首相が吠える】
Prime Minister's speech
By Andy McSmith and Jo Dillon
16 February 2003
Tony Blair performed an abrupt change of tack by claiming that overthrowing Saddam Hussein by force would be an act of humanity.
【トニー・ブレアは突如態度を豹変させて「サダム・フセインを暴力的に滅ぼすのは人類愛の行為である」と言い出した。】
As millions of anti-war protesters took to the streets of London, Glasgow and other British cities, the Prime Minister departed from his usual argument that war is a last resort to protect the West against Iraq's illegal weaponry. Instead, he put what he called a "progressive" case for bringing down Baghdad's hated dictator.
【何百万人もの反戦デモの隊列がロンドンやグラスゴウやその他のイギリス各地の街路を埋め尽くすに至ったいま、首相は「戦争はイラクの違法兵器から西洋社会を守るための最後の手段だ」という消極的な常套句を捨て去り、自らが「進歩的」と称する論法を繰り出して、バグダットの嫌われ者の独裁者を攻撃する理由を宣伝し始めた。】
"This is a regime that contravenes every single principle or value that decent people and people in our movement should believe in," he told delegates to Labour's spring conference.
"If the result of peace is Saddam staying in power, not disarmed, then I tell you there are consequences paid in blood for that decision too. These victims will never be seen. They will never feature on our TV screens or inspire millions to take to the streets. But they will exist nonetheless.
"Ridding the world of Saddam would be an act of humanity. It is leaving him there that is inhumane."
【「サダムを排除することこそ人類愛にもとづく行ないなのであります。奴に現状維持を許すのは、無慈悲な行ないなのであります。」】
But only minutes before he made this uncompromising call for Saddam Hussein's overthrow, Mr Blair also indicated that the Iraqi president could still save himself and his government by agreeing to co-operate unconditionally with UN weapons inspectors.
In his first public reaction to Friday's UN Security Council meeting in New York, Mr Blair agreed that the inspectors should go back to Iraq to continue their mission to disarm the regime, and report to the UN again on 28 February.
Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, flew back from New York early yesterday to spend the day on the telephone to his counterparts around the world, trying to win them over to the British view that Saddam Hussein is still indulging in his 12-year game of evading UN controls. Foreign Office staff are now working on the text of a UN resolution which would condemn Iraq for failing to comply with resolution 1441, passed by the Security Council last November, and pave the way for a military strike.
Once the US and British have agreed a draft, they will begin negotiations with other permanent members of the Security Council to try to achieve unanimity. But their prospects of winning over France, Russia and China appear to have receded after Friday's session. This leaves Mr Blair with the nightmarish prospect of sending British troops into action without direct UN sanction, risking a rift in the Labour Party and more demonstrations to match yesterday's vast display of opposition.
The Prime Minister was heard in respectful silence by 2,000 Labour delegates. Some hailed it as the best speech of his career. During the standing ovation that followed, just three people held up banners saying "No blood for oil".
Mr Blair said the reason he felt strongly about tackling Saddam Hussein, as a Labour leader more than as a Prime Minister, was the "moral case for removing Saddam".
"It is not the reason we act. That must be according to the United Nations mandate on weapons of mass destruction. But it is the reason, frankly, why if we do act, we should do so with a clear conscience," he said. "Yes, there are consequences of war. If we remove Saddam by force, people will die and some will be innocent. And we must live with the consequences of our actions, even the unintended ones. But there are also consequences of 'stop the war'."
In a direct message to the millions of protesters marching around the world ? some 25,000 just yards from where he spoke inside the heavily policed Scottish Exhibition Conference Centre ? Mr Blair read out letters from Iraqi exiles detailing torture and political oppression under Saddam Hussein.
The Prime Minister appeared to accept his political career rested on this issue. He concluded his speech by saying: "It is indeed the testing time, the tough time, but if we come through it I tell you the price is not just a government able to carry on. It is far more important than that: it is a signal that we will have changed politics for good."
GMB general secretary John Edmonds said afterwards: "If the argument is so strong, why do it alone? If the argument is so strong, why not carry the world with us? Those were the questions that were not answered."
Earlier David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, became the first Cabinet minister to admit that party members had left the Labour Party in protest at the Government's stance on Iraq.
He said he had a message for "those party members who are so exercised now and those who have toyed with or left the party" that they had all joined the Labour "family" to change the world. And that is what they should continue to try to do.
17 February 2003 03:44
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題名には必ず「阿修羅さんへ」と記述してください。