A recent British report by the Committee on Foreign Affairs warned that Britain is losing the war against terrorism. It said that the Anglo-American war in Iraq has made the world a more dangerous place than it was before. The American-British support for Israel has also created what may be a permanent obstacle to the Middle East peace plan. The rather pessimistic report also maintained that the current war had transformed Iraq into a theater for Al-Qaeda and thus paved the way for a major catastrophe. It went further and said that Iraq may become what can only be described as a “failed” state. The upsurge in violence including the bomb blasts in Baghdad and the eastern city of Baquba on Tuesday only confirms this gloomy prediction. What happens in Iraq in turn affects the entire region and makes neighboring countries liable to instability. The report expressed deep concern about human rights violations by British forces in Iraq. Britain is losing credibility because of such human rights violations, says the report.
On another front, USA Today published an open discussion with Bush’s National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice asking whether America was a safer place now. The newspaper expressed the view that the war had made Iraq a new haven for terrorists and that among the negative points was the unraveling of the international coalition formed in the aftermath of Sept. 11. The newspaper concluded by saying that maybe the situation in Iraq would improve in time but the extent of the losses caused by the US are outrageous and inexcusable.
According to Newsweek, the majority of Americans consider President Bush’s policy and diplomacy has led to increased anti-American feelings in much of the world. Only 9 percent of Americans think that Bush has contributed to America’s standing in the world and 60 percent think he has done damage to America. According to CNN, 55 percent of the American public believes that the US has become less secure since the invasion of Iraq and this lack of security has affected other parts of the world too.
These are definitely negative aspects to the war and there has been no mention of the harm done to the British or American economy. As for Iraqi losses, they have been devastating.
It is so shocking that more than 20,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the American invasion and the majority have been civilians — the elderly, women and children as in Afghanistan. This figure does not include the number of people already killed or getting killed in the fresh fighting in Najaf, Fallujah and a host of other places. And there is little doubt that the political, security and human catastrophes that have befallen Afghanistan and Iraq will ultimately spill over into the neighboring countries — Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. All of us will have to pay a high price for this doomed invasion.
Despite these problems, there has been no Arab or Islamic effort to stand up to the disastrous policies of America and Britain. Both are now a very real danger, which threatens international peace and security.
