Lonan3 Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 An article in TODAY'S INDEPENDENT that's worth a read. An authoritative US study of terrorist attacks after the invasion in 2003 contradicts the repeated denials of George Bush and Tony Blair that the war is not to blame for an upsurge in fundamentalist violence worldwide. The research is said to be the first to attempt to measure the "Iraq effect" on global terrorism. It found that the number killed in jihadist attacks around the world has risen dramatically since the Iraq war began in March 2003. The study compared the period between 11 September 2001 and the invasion of Iraq with the period since the invasion. The count - excluding the Arab-Israel conflict - shows the number of deaths due to terrorism rose from 729 to 5,420. As well as strikes in Europe, attacks have also increased in Chechnya and Kashmir since the invasion. The research was carried out by the Centre on Law and Security at the NYU Foundation for Mother Jones magazine. Iraq was the catalyst for a ferocious fundamentalist backlash, according to the study, which says that the number of those killed by Islamists within Iraq rose from seven to 3,122. Afghanistan, invaded by US and British forces in direct response to the September 11 attacks, saw a rise from very few before 2003 to 802 since then. In the Chechen conflict, the toll rose from 234 to 497. In the Kashmir region, as well as India and Pakistan, the total rose from 182 to 489, and in Europe from none to 297. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 I find the denials by Bush and Blair that Iraq hasn't inflamed an already volitile situation just so much unbelieveable spin. They continually harp on that it was volitile before had - true, but not really relevent to the question in hand - which is, is it more volitile now. There is no doubt in my mind that it is. And worse than that - the failure to gain control of the situation has given the Jihadists confidence that they can hurt the west. Bush says his anti terrorist policy in Iraq is to draw the terrorists in and destroy them; this ignores the fact that for every terrorist drawn in another couple are recruited. I'd imagine Osama Bin Laden's policy in Iraq is to draw the Yankees in, destroy them, and undermine their domestic support and make it more unlikely the US will intervene if Jihadist bases are set up in Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philipines etc. I know which policy has been more of a success! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tucker Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 No doubt this study will be dismissed as Fag/Liberal hogwash by the gungho rednecks that think Saddam was in on 9/11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkydevil Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 It's all liberal bollox everyone knows Saddam flew a plane into the Twin Towers and then the Pentagon and then he invaded Kuwait. The war is just. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pragmatopian Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 I have a theory that George and Tony got all their ideas from Simpsons Episode 1F09 'Homer the Vigilante' Tony joins George's gang... They come upon Jimbo who is spray painting "carpe diem" on a wall. Homer: You better have a good reason for doing that, boy. Jimbo: It makes me feel like a big man. Homer: Let me check my reason list. ...Yep! It's on here. Jimbo: Hey! You're that drunken posse. Wow...can I join ya? Homer: [skeptical]I don't know...can you swing a sack of door knobs? Jimbo: _Can_ I? Homer: You're in! Here's the sack. Moe: But you gotta supply your own knobs. George rides roughshod over the UN... Homer: So I said to him, "Look, buddy, your car was upside down when we got here. And as for your Grandma, she shouldn't have mouthed off like that!" Lisa: Dad, don't you see you're abusing your power like all vigilantes? I mean, if you're the police, who will police the police? Homer: I dunno. Coast Guard? Abu Ghiraib and all that... Kent: Mr. Simpson, how do you respond to the charges that petty vandalism such as graffiti is down eighty percent, while heavy sack-beatings are up a shocking nine hundred percent? Homer: Aw, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forfty percent of all people know that. Kent: I see. Well, what do you say to the accusation that your group has been causing more crimes than it's been preventing? Homer: [amused] Oh, Kent, I'd be lying if I said my men weren't committing crimes. Kent: [pause] Well, touche'. Ulterior motives.... Marge: Homer, wasn't the whole point to catch the Cat Burglar? Lisa: And I still don't have my saxophone. Homer: Lisa, the mob is working on getting your saxophone back. But we've also expanded into other important areas. [reads a list]Literacy programs, preserving our beloved covered bridges, world domination -- Lisa: World domination? Homer: Oh ho, heh, that might be a typo. [thinks] Mental note: the girl knows too much. Full episode summary here: http://www.snpp.com/episodes/1F09.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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