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‘War on terror is a failure’ Issue: 21
December 2009
says UK Report
‘War on terror’ has failed in almost all its aims, but one important consequence could be far more effective responses to future global security challenges, according to a leading UK think-tank. A new study from Oxford Research Group (ORG), published pointed to multiple failures in the military response to the 9/11 atrocities, including over 100,000 civilian deaths, 120,000 refugees and continuing violence in Iraq, and a disastrous war in Afghanistan. The report, entitled Global Security after the War on Terror, predicted that one consequence may actually be a fundamental re-thinking of many of the old approaches to international security. “The war on terror has been a disaster, but recognizing its failure
might at least help us develop our understanding of global security in a manner appropriate to the 21st Century,” it concluded. Professor Paul Rogers, the author of the report, described the old approaches as getting “essentially obsolete” and said that the future need will be “less emphasis on military responses and much more on conflict prevention.” “The war on terror has been a classic example of what might be termed ‘liddism’ – keeping the lid on security threats without recognizing, still less understanding, the underlying reasons for insecurity,” said the professor of peace studies. “Such an approach - the determined effort to maintain control - fails to recognize the interconnected
nature of today’s globalized world. The castle gates simply cannot be closed,” he said. The report argued that the most serious future threats to global security will come not from groups like al-Qaida but from the impact of the widening global rich-poor divide, marginalisation and climate change. “Attempting to maintain the status quo for wealthy communities in what will be a fragile and unstable world will be self-defeating,” it warned. “In a divided and increasingly constrained world, an elite minority will not be able to prosper at the expense of the majority – a transition to a sustainable security policy rooted in emancipation and justice is essential,” Rogers concluded.
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