The British seem to begrudgingly endorse Tony Blair's decision to get British troops out of Iraq. Even the Telegraph supports the move although not the result:
"The British people have shown a lot of patience. Four years is surely enough time to set a successor regime on its feet. Yet, as Douglas Hurd writes on this page - and we support his call for an inquiry into how we got into this mess - little has gone as hoped. Life, liberty and property are less secure now than in the latter days of Saddam. The occupation has served to radicalise Muslim opinion, not only in Iraq, but throughout Europe and the Middle East. The overthrow of the Ba'athists and the Taliban in Afghanistan removed anti-Shia powers on Iran's flanks, while making a direct confrontation with the ayatollahs politically and logistically impossible. Britain's standing has plummeted: America is resented, but we are resented and despised, viewed as Washington's trailing hyena.
"Yet there comes a point when we exhaust our utility. We tried working with the existing police. That failed. We tried scrapping the army and starting anew. That failed, too. If it is not in our power to create a better society in Iraq, there is no point in hanging around."
No comments:
Post a Comment