社説:テロとの戦い 明確な展望が必要だ

September 26, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Obama must state clear vision for expanded airstrikes against Islamic State
社説:テロとの戦い　明確な展望が必要だ

The United States and five Arab countries have begun airstrikes in Syria, expanding the battle against Sunni Islamic State radicals. In a rare move, U.S. President Barack Obama headed a United Nations Security Council summit, where he successfully pitched a resolution to prevent foreign nationals from joining terrorist groups. One could say that a full-fledged struggle against terror has been launched by the Obama administration.
　米国がアラブ５カ国と連携してシリア領内の空爆に踏み切った。イスラム教スンニ派の過激派組織「イスラム国」との戦場をイラクからシリアにも広げたのである。と同時にオバマ米大統領は国連安保理で異例の首脳級会合を主宰し、「イスラム国」などの武装組織に外国人が流入することを防ぐ決議採択にこぎ着けた。オバマ政権版の「テロとの戦い」が本格的に始まったといえよう。
   
Obama announced an expansion of the American military campaign in a speech he gave in mid-September, having determined that airstrikes in Iraq were insufficient. Over half of the more than 30,000 Islamic State militants are believed to be in Syria. The oil-rich countries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain are all U.S. allies and have taken a collective security strategy. Meanwhile, Jordan, which borders Iraq and Syria and is the fifth Arab country to participate in the expanded airstrikes, has been targeted by the Islamic State group as its next prey.
　空爆拡大はオバマ大統領が今月中旬の演説で予告していた。３万人を超える「イスラム国」の戦闘員は半数以上がシリア領内にいるとされ、イラク空爆だけでは不十分と見たのだ。空爆に参加した湾岸産油国のサウジアラビア、アラブ首長国連邦、カタール、バーレーンはいずれも親米で、集団安保機構「湾岸の盾」を構成する。イラクとシリアに接しているヨルダンは「イスラム国」が虎視眈々（たんたん）と制圧を狙う国だ。

It was the complementary nature of U.S. and Arab interests that made this collaborative operation possible. Having come under intense fire from the Muslim world for its pre-emptive military strikes with the U.K. against Iraq in 2003, the Obama administration wanted to avoid such criticism, while the five Arab countries were desperate as they faced immediate threats from Islamic State militants. The structure of the campaign resembles the one taken when the air forces of the U.S. and Gulf countries waged war against Iraq in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
　２００３年のイラク戦争は米英の先制攻撃がイスラム世界の猛反発を買っただけに、反発を避けたいオバマ政権と、脅威に直面する５カ国の利益が一致して共同作戦になったのだろう。米国と湾岸諸国の空軍が先陣を切った湾岸戦争（１９９１年）の開戦とよく似た構図だ。

We want to ask President Obama, however, what his strategy and prospects are for the future. In his aforementioned speech, Obama declared that he would seek the destruction of the Islamic State group, but insisted he would not send U.S. ground troops. How effectively, then, can the powerful terrorist group on the ground be fought? Can victory be secured through airstrikes alone? The answer remains unclear. And it will not be easy to organize ground troops centered on the militaries of the Arab countries taking part in the campaign.
　だが、オバマ大統領に重ねて問いたいのは、将来への戦略と展望だ。先の演説で大統領は「イスラム国」の壊滅をめざしつつ米地上軍の投入は否定した。ではどうやって強力な「イスラム国」と地上で渡り合うのか。空爆によって勝利への展望は開けるのか。その答えは相変わらず見えない。アラブ諸国を中心に地上軍を組織するのも簡単ではあるまい。

While it's possible to interpret the airstrikes in Iraq as exercising the right to collective self-defense, the legal basis for conducting airstrikes within Syrian borders while being at odds with the administration of President Bashar Assad is questionable. Both Russia and China, which have continued to veto Security Council resolutions relating to Syria, must also feel the threat of the Islamic State group. Would it not make sense for the Obama administration to hold renewed discussions with the two countries about a Security Council resolution that would justify the current military campaign and on how to bring the civil war in Syria to an end?
　また、イラク政府の要請による領内の空爆は集団的自衛権の行使と解釈できても、シリアのアサド政権と対立しながら同国領内を空爆する法的根拠への疑問もある。シリア関連の安保理決議案に拒否権を行使し続けたロシアや中国も「イスラム国」の脅威を感じていよう。オバマ政権は、軍事行動を正当化する安保理決議やシリア内戦の収束について露中と改めて話し合ってはどうか。

In the latest airstrikes, a largely unknown al-Qaida subgroup called the Khorasan group was one of the targets. Terrorist organizations are splintering off and proliferating. The administration of President George W. Bush began using the expression "war on terror" after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but the series of military operations that followed fueled anti-U.S. sentiment -- to which the rise of unprecedented threats such as the Islamic State group could be attributed.
　今回の空爆では「ホラサン」という、一般には無名のアルカイダ系武装組織も攻撃対象となった。テロ組織は分化・増殖しながら拡散している。ブッシュ前政権は０１年の同時多発テロ後、あえて戦争という言葉を使い「テロとの戦争（ｗａｒｏｎｔｅｒｒｏｒ）」を始めたが、一連の軍事行動が反米感情をあおり、ひいては「イスラム国」のような未曽有の脅威を生んだと考えることもできよう。

The kind of militarism characterized by the Bush administration will only leave behind more trouble. The Obama administration is probably in for the long haul in its fight against terrorism. And it is precisely because the struggle will be a prolonged one that we must embrace foreign diplomacy and international cooperation.
　前政権のような武断路線では禍根を残す。オバマ政権のテロとの戦いは長期戦になろう。それだけに外交と国際協調を大事にしたい。

毎日新聞　2014年09月26日　02時31分