Associated Press "Iraq says 9/11 attacks were 'God's punishment.'"

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"The September 11 attacks were remembered on Wednesday as ''God's punishment'' on America among Iraqis fearful and angry at the possibility the United States might attack to topple their president. '''Events like September 11 are sad but it is an opportunity for the American people to feel what bombing could do to nations,'' Ali Ahmed, a 47-year-old who owns a Baghdad stationary shop, said on Wednesday, the first anniversary of the attacks. '''America has proven it has no respect for nations by wanting to change the government in Iraq. How would an American feel toward somebody who wants to change his government?''' A September 10, 2002 editorial in the Times called upon the international community to keep its stated and its implied duty to reconstruct Afghanistan. "The recent attacks target the credibility of the international community. Its commitment to a new order in Afghanistan is being tested. The response has been less than inspiring. There are 4,500 peacekeepers in Afghanistan, all of them in Kabul; Bosnia, which is a fraction of Afghanistan's size, has 18,000. At the Afghan reconstruction conference held earlier this year in Tokyo, governments promised $1.8 billion in aid and assistance to Afghanistan. Less than a third of that sum has been delivered. "'Nation-building'is a troubling concept. For some, it smacks of imperialism and neocolonialism. To others, it is a fruitless attempt to stitch authority out of the air, a waste of valuable resources. When the process is done incorrectly, it is all those things. But as the history of modern Afghanistan shows, the failure to engage in nation-building, or the unwillingness to do it right, creates problems far worse. Nature and politics abhor a vacuum; al-Qaeda has proved more than willing to fill it." On September 11, 2002, the Times carried an op-ed piece from Ronald Morse, Terasaki Professor of Japanese Studies at UCLA. Morse's essay, entitled "Once again at ground zero" doesn't focus on the September 11 attacks. Rather Morse argues that for the third time in two centuries, Japan is at a crossroads. He is not optimistic that the Koizumi government is up to the challenge: "... Japan has been at ground zero two other times in its modern history and both times the outcome was not pretty. "The first time was in the 1860s when the Tokugawa government was crumbling under the weight of bad economics and foreign pressure to open up to the world. That political revolution ushered in the Meiji Era government, which was dedicated to expelling the barbarians and restoring the Emperor. At that time, it opted to follow the Prussian model of government. "The second time Tokyo hit political ground zero was in the 1930s, when it was again on the verge of economic collapse and the military decided to take over the government and form an alliance with Nazi Germany. Fascism was the politics of choice. In both of these cases the collapse of political leadership led to a swing to the right and a go-it-alone brand of Japanese rearmament. "Could it happen again? Everyone I know says, 'No way.' Perhaps it can't, but all of the makings of a third modern political revolution with a traditional swing to the right are in place -- a collapsed economy, the search for political heroes (read Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara) and quick fixes, the desire for an independent military capability, and an undercurrent of anti-Americanism spiced with a confrontational posture toward Japan's historical rival, China." The September 12 edition of the Japan Times included "Colleagues remember 9/11 dead." The memorial activities staged by Japanese companies which lost workers in the World Trade Center towers varied. Nishi-Nippon Bank had its 3,000 employees observe a moment of silence at 8:46 am 9/11 to remember two of its employees who perished. Chief Cabinet Secretary FUKUDA Yasuo is quoted as offering sympathy to the families of all who died: "Many precious lives, including those of 24 Japanese, were lost, and many other people suffered. We as the (Japanese) government will offer our sincere condolences to all those who were victimized and express our sympathies to their families and those close to them." South Korea Chosun Ilbo The paper's lead editorial on September 10 expressed the wish that 9/11 eventually be seen as "a historical turning point as humanity overcomes tragedy to create new hope." But the editors argue that U.S. unilateralism lessens the chances that this can happen. "The US needs to be able to present the world with vision and prospects relating to its ideas of a new global order in the wake of 911. Doing so would also be responsible and becoming of its status as the world's only superpower. Despite this, the Bush Administration continues to be unsuccessful in its effort to win over the international community entirely. The US should also deeply reflect on how it is giving the impression that it is confusing the will of a determined superpower and American-style unilateralism. "If the cowardly and repulsive factor that is terrorism is to be removed from the scene, there needs to be a change in the soil in which terrorism breeds. If this is going to happen, the Bush Administration will have to lessen the number of its enemies and increase the number of its comrades based on thoroughly universally accepted standards of international diplomacy, this instead of forcing all the countries of the world into one of either of these two categories. "The Korean peninsula will never be free from the influence of the events of 911. The US is Korea's only ally, and North Korea belongs to the "Axis of Evil." The government, in order to prevent another security crisis on the Korean peninsula, must actively participate in the global discourse on the issue of terrorism and work to strengthen the US-Korea alliance." The Korea Herald The Korea Herald was begun as The Korean Republic in 1953. Among its lead stories for September 12 was one on the South Korean government's reaffirmation of support for the "U.S.-led global campaign against terrorism." Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hang-kyung, speaking at the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Seoul said, "Terrorism is a defiant challenge against human civilization and it should not be tolerated or justified under any pretext. It will always pay a severe price." Among those attending the memorial service was Lee Hoi-chang, presidential nominee of the Grand National Party. South Korea will hold presidential elections in December 2002. Earlier, the paper carried a report on how 9/11 had affected South Korea's relationship with North Korea. Reporter SHIN Yong-bae notes that many worried that North Korea might become an American target after U.S. President Bush named it part of an "axis of evil." In fact, the two regimes have recently managed to improve relations and North Korea and Japan are working towards establishing normal diplomatic relations. Several North-South initiatives including establishing a meeting place for separated families have moved ahead. Some argue that North Korean worries of U.S. military action prompted a more conciliatory atmosphere. A former North Korean economics professor, however, argued that the North sought to mute American hostility by seeking better ties with neighbors including Russia and Japan. The newspaper's September 11 editorial "9/11: a year and after"begins with the contention that "9/11 could not change the time-tested theory of blood calling for more blood." The editors fear that the U.S. anger will yield continuing war. "If the terrorists had aimed at disgracing and incapacitating the world's sole superpower with the horrible acts of violence, they were at best half successful. The insulted but empowered giant was never satisfied with pulverizing the core foes of al-Qaida and Taliban but is seeking a second target in Saddam Hussein, a thorn in America's flesh for decades. The preemptive attack on Iraq may happen next month or next year. Baghdad is vowing a do-or-die resistance, risking another multinational war. "... [Many nations, including traditional allie have] suspicions about the obsession over Iraq within the family of U.S. President George Bush and in his administration. But if Bush has to hit Hussein just because the latter has a few nuclear bombs, the basis for attack is too weak. The former Soviet Union has a much bigger and more sophisticated nuclear arsenal. If countries are called rogue states just because they have - or want to have - a couple of atomic weapons, what would one call America, which has thousands of them? "Hence the widespread assumption among diplomatic watchers that Washington wants to keep alive the war momentum with a 'visible enemy.' Underneath it is the open secret of U.S. desire to dominate the oil-rich Middle East as well as the need to both consume outdated and test newly-developed weapons to maintain the military-industrial complex.... "The U.S. is no longer just a superpower but a hyper-power, but it cannot go the unilateralist way anytime, anywhere. Secretary of State Colin Powell was snubbed [at an international environmental conference recently because of] U.S. adherence to fossil fuels by rigging more wells at home and abroad and its recalcitrance to develop alternative energy sources to prevent climatic disaster. The editors argue the root of the problem is American unwillingness to understand and accept differences among peoples. "Seeking Pax Americana is not necessarily bad but should be materialized through the globalization of America, not through the Americanization of the globe. The prospect of the world living peacefully under U.S. leadership could hardly turn into a reality as long as America remains hostile to anyone that would not accept its order and forces them to follow its hegemony. Washington, instead of trying to overcome anti-Americanism with enhanced public relations, should rather introduce some relativism in its international policies. "If Washington is to attack Iraq, it should do so based on sufficient proof and the procedures set by the United Nations. Korea would be hard-pressed to assist in the "second-phase" anti-terrorism military campaigns. Under both the cause of global peace and practical interests of securing stable oil supply, Seoul is advised to oppose any further military conflict. Even if the government cannot refuse Washington's request for help for security and economic reasons, it should take a balanced approach not to anger its Arab friends. "On the first anniversary of the immense tragedy, we offer our deep condolences to the families of the nearly 3,000 victims, including 18 ethnic Koreans. We also understand the U.S. fury over the inhumane acts of terror as well as its frustration over spreading anti-Americanism. But before Washington asks why the rest of the world increasingly dislikes its behavior, it should ponder what has turned the sympathy and support into reservation and opposition. Once again, the fundamental solution lies with eliminating not terrorists but the environment which spawns them." Taiwan