A
new report published by Chattam House, a well respected UK think tank, seriously questions the wisdom of the British governement's decision to hitch their wagon to Bushco in the ill-begotton Iraq fiasco. I first heard this news reported on NPR, but it is also reported in today's edition of the Independent (
Role in Iraq war 'has made Britain a target for attacks').
This from the Independent:
The Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, said that Britain's support for the US did not mean it was an equal partner but a "pillion passenger compelled to leave the steering to the ally in the driving seat".
Another card is dropping. Click down for more...
Here is some of the scoop from the
press release summarizing the findings:
A key problem for the UK in preventing terrorism in Britain is the government's position as `pillion passenger' to the United States' war on terror. Formulating counter-terrorism policy in this way has left the `ally in the driving seat' to do the steering. This is one of the key findings of Security, Terrorism and the UK, a new, long-planned briefing paper to be published on Monday 18 July by Chatham House and the Economic & Social Research Council.
The report also argues that Islamic terrorist activity was not given appropriate priority until the late 1990s. Prior to this, groups known to be active in London were not viewed as a threat to the UK's national security and were subsequently left with `relative impunity.'
The report also says that the UK is at particular risk because it is the closest ally of the US and has closely supported the deployment of British troops in the military campaigns to topple the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam's regime in Iraq.
The report claims that there is 'no doubt' that the invasion of Iraq has imposed particular difficulties for the UK and for the wider coalition against terrorism. According to the paper, the situation in Iraq has `given a boost to the Al-Qaeda network's propaganda, recruitment and fundraising', whilst providing an ideal targeting and training area for Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists.
I have only seen a trickle of coverage in the US media relating to the question of whether or not the war in Iraq has made the world safer from terrorism. However, its seems that the issue is on the verge becoming front and center in Britain, naturally enough, given the recent London terror bombings.
Given the escalating violence in Iraq, it doesn't take rocket science to conclude that invading Iraq has amounted to a tremendous setback in the so-called war on terror. But now we have another report (full report here) to back it up.
