Posted on 05/26/2004 12:43:21 AM PDT by churchillbuff
LONDON : The US-led war on Iraq, far from countering terrorism, has helped revitalise the Al-Qaeda terror network, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think-tank warned.
The London-based body said in its annual Strategic Survey 2003/2004 that the deadly train bombings in Madrid in March, the worst terror strike in Europe for more than a decade, showed that Osama Bin Laden's terror network "had fully reconstituted".
It also predicted the Islamic group would step up its anti-Western attacks, possibly even resorting to weapons of mass destruction and targeting Americans, Europeans and Israelis while continuing to support insurgents opposing the US-led occupation of Iraq.
The IISS pointed to devastating blasts in Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in 2003 and 2004 as further evidence that anti-US sentiment had soared since the Iraq war.
"In counter-terrorism terms, the intervention has arguably focused the energies and resources of al-Qaeda and its followers while diluting those of the global counter-terrorism coalition that appeared so formidable following the Afghanistan intervention in late 2001," the report said.
However, since the war it said that arms proliferation and state-sponsored terrorism has dwindled, with Libya giving up its unconventional weapons programs and Syria becoming "less provocative."
Stalinist North Korea's secret nuclear programme was somehow contained thanks to a negotiating process while Iran agreed to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency over its nuclear activities, the IISS said.
But another legacy of the war was what the IISS termed a highly questionable recourse to pre-emptive strikes as a means of counter-proliferation, as well as "the uses and abuses of intelligence as a basis for military action."
The IISS said the United States, which has dominated world affairs since the end of the Cold War, had failed to understand that Al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001 attacks were "a violent reaction to America's pre-eminence" and it urged the superpower to temper "the appearance of American unilateralism".
It warned that Washington would have a hard time restoring order in embattled Iraq and stressed that the conflict had brought a political split between the United States and its continental European allies, leaving Britain stuck in the middle.
The survey additionally forecast a possible attention shift away from terrorism, Middle Eastern problems and weapons proliferation should North Korea opt for a more aggressive stance, a humanitarian disaster hit Africa or undesirable regime-changes "produce abrupt and serious security challenges".
The United States will not manage to tackle all of the above single-handedly, warned the think-tank, raising a question mark over Europe's ability to break away from "strategic arthritis."
I saw a bumper sticker here in Ithaca that goes right along with CHBuff's premise:
"We're making new enemies faster than we can kill them"
What a stoopid thought. It is completely wrong, probably on two levels, but we CERTAINLY can kill them much faster than we have so far demonstrated. If the terrorists don't realize that, someday we may have to demonstrate it.
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I agree with you. Those bumper stickers are quite juvenile. It almost makes you wonder how those folks navigate through life, they seem so simple minded.
Must be demoralizing have two of your pathetic anti-war threads go down so hard in less then 24 hours. The strange thing is how you seem to relish wallowing in your own BS.
You really should consider a hobo...selling out the troops and the nation just isn't working out well for you.
Actually you don't. I know this has been pointed out to you before, by me at least a half dozen times, but Gen. Schwarzkopf commented early in 2003 that he favored giving the U.N. more time and building a larger coalition...he wasn't opposed to action. And since we went into Iraq he has not made a single public comment opposing our actions.
But you keep using him in your anti-war BS.
I also notice you've stopped quoting your pet general Zinni...he who profits off the death of his own people. Actually, you would do far better to stop lying about Schwarzkopf and stick to quoting Zinni...he's on your side...and can turn a neat buck at the same time.
I'm right with you,Doughty. :-)
Please offer that cheese to the *whiners*! :-)
Nonsequitur.
It doesn't following that Al Qaeda has "fully reconstituted" because they were able to pull off the train bombings in Spain.
More false conclusions.
This "think-tank" isn't running on a full tank.
So, I wonder what time our Michael Moore wanna-be will post his next anti-war thread?
Since I'm leaving FR early tonight,my guess is after I've left...if at all. :-)
Using your logic: I would like to know this: If gun control is such a threat to our freedoms then why haven't any gun control laws been repealed.
The freedom to own guns and the threat of terrorism are both a major threat to our freedoms -- irregardless of how many gun control laws have been repealed.
You have a pleasant evening then. I'm sure he will have at least one goodie for us tomorrow...it's just his nature.
Should be: Gun control and the threat of terrorism are both a major threat to our freedoms -- irregardless of how many gun control laws have not been repealed.
The freedom to own guns and the threat of terrorism are both a major threat to our freedoms -- irregardless of how many gun control laws have been repealed.
But terrorism doesn't threaten the right to keep and bear arms (unless the government starts confiscating weapons in the name of safety). The right to keep and bear arms, however, does threaten terrorism.
Actually, I think it has.
- The presence of the US military in Saudi Arabia angered OBL so much that in 1996 he declared war on us because of it. That military presence was removed right after Saddam Hussein was captured.
- Iran agreed to inspections of its nuclear facilities.
- A scientist in Pakistan was exposed for selling its nuclear secrets.
- Pakistan and India came close to a nuclear war. They are now talking.
- Libya has agreed to give up its WMDs.
If ONLY FR would be purged of it's anti-war nutters and the newbies,who,after being here a couple of weeks,at most,send HATE MAIL to people they can't "take down" on a thread.
Did you hear that sound, Dave, that is chamberlainbuff's head bursting when you pointed out facts in reply #156 and not parroting the fifth column liberal media.
I had one who would vehemently deny it on the thread, then send me another one even worse then the last. Which of course I would post and he would deny...claiming I was making it all up.
After his third freep-mail, uncensored still, he and all of his posts just went poof! Gone off to some bikerbar on the other side of the gallexy.
Being thoroughly HTML impaired,I can't do that...so I took care of it in private,by stating facts;unlike the sender of the original post.:-)
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