Press release: Chronic failures of US-led "war on terror" bolstering Somali and Afghan extremists
LONDON – The current US-led War on Terror approach is creating a political space in which extremists such as Al-Shabab in Somalia and the Taliban in Afghanistan have become legitimate political actors, said The Senlis Council at the release of its latest report on Wednesday. In its report
Chronic Failures of the War on Terror: From Afghanistan to Somalia, The Senlis Council said that a number of abject policy failures of the Bush Administration in Somalia, such as aerial bombings, support of the Ethiopian troops in the country and the ill-timed designation of Al-Shabab as a terrorist organisation had been successfully exploited by the Somali insurgency to boost its support and recruitment bases.
“The lack of strategic acumen present in the “War on Terror” in Somalia and Afghanistan is in fact enabling the spread of the insurgencies present throughout both countries,” said Norine MacDonald QC, President and Lead Field Researcher of The Senlis Council. “The United States is the common denominator in both countries – instead of containing the extremist elements in Somalia and Afghanistan, US policies have facilitated the expansion of territory that Al-Shabab and the Taliban have psychological control over.”
“The international community is complicit in Somalia’s troubles, standing idly by as the United States continues with its failed and inflammatory policies,” added Paul Burton, Director of Policy Analysis at The Senlis Council.
“President Bush has the perfect opportunity to adorn the twilight of his final term in office with a success story in his self-proclaimed War on Terror – a Fast Track “Surge for Peace” to end the current Somali crisis.”...
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