The government's inconsistent statements last week on the security situation in the southern Iraq city of Samawah, the destination of Japanese ground troops, has raised new doubts about a survey report that describes the situation as "relatively stable." This suggests, regrettably, that the government has not been doing a very good job gathering security intelligence.

Responding to questions in the Diet, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said the government's order to dispatch the main contingent of the Ground Self-Defense Force was based partly on reliable information supplied by a council of representatives in the Iraqi city. But he reversed himself after it was revealed that the municipal council had disbanded. However, the prime minister reaffirmed the report's finding, saying "the problem of the council has no direct effect on the security situation."

Meanwhile, the Japan Communist Party produced an internal government document indicating that the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Agency had drafted a report making the same conclusion as the final report even before the survey was completed. The document says allied forces in a southern province that includes Samawah were attacked six times between May and January. However, these incidents were kept confidential.