A recent study done by a UK based research organisation points out that the American and British policies towards Iraq are resulting in an ironic increase in terror levels, instead of wiping them out. The report claimed that the British and US policy towards Iraq has “spawned new terror in the region”.
War on terror increasing risk of terror attacks
The Oxford Research Group (ORG), in its latest report has offered that the ongoing war on terror and the war in Iraq were increasing the risk of future terrorist attacks on the scale of 9/11.
Basically, what is happening is that instead of placating the extremists, the militaristic policies are resulting in angering them further. The report says
Treating Iraq as part of the war on terror... created a combat training zone for jihadists
The study was conducted under lead study author Chris Abbott, who says
There is a clear and present danger - an increasingly marginalised majority living in an environmentally constrained world, where military force is more likely to be used to control the consequences of these dangerous divisions.
Add to this the disastrous effects of climate change, and we are looking at a highly unstable global system by the middle years of the century unless urgent action is taken now
Global instability
In a similar report a year ago, the group had highlighted four areas that it said were contributing to world instability. One of these reasons highlighted was the increasing use of military force and the further spread of military technologies, which is what the US and UK occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan is all about.
The other instability factors included climate change, competition for increasingly scarce resources, and marginalisation of the majority of the world’s population as socio-economic divisions widen.
While these factors remain the greatest threats, the Iraq policies must be given more weight as they are putting the world in grave dangers similar to 9/11.
Iraq policy undermining British reputation
In a separate report, another NGO called Oxfam International said the Iraq invasion had “seriously undermined” Britain’s reputation. However, the report goes on to warn the Blair administration that it must not hesitate in sending troops, as that is the only way to deal with any humanitarian crisis at the moment.
It is hinted that the troops must stay there to complete their job, and cannot be called back in fear of the criticism that the government is facing. This would just create more anarchy in Iraq, plus it would be deathly for the Blair administration.
What went wrong?
According to the report, the military policies implemented by the west in Iraq tried to keep a check on terrorism using military might, but had failed in vain. Only concentrating on the superficial level, the failure came as a result of them not being able to address the root causes of terrorism. It was because of this that Iran, Syria and North Korea had become “emboldened”, while the Taliban was on the rise in Afghanistan.
The bubble that may burst soon
The US and UK are failing to tap the real reasons behind terrorism’s growth. They do not realise that these extremists are floutingly against western repression. And ironically, by deploying troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the west is doing exactly that. This is therefore leading to a superficial controlled situation, which is like a bubble that can burst any moment.
What needs to be done now is a thorough examination of the situations both in Iraq and Afghanistan, followed by an overhaul of the western strategies in these areas based on the results of the studies.
It must be realised that terrorism is an ideology which needs to be dealt with psychologically, not with force. What happened with socialism during the cold war might not happen with fundamentalism. Have we forgotten that these fundamentalists have proven that they will not sit back and let the west have its cake and eat it too.
Via: BBC
