Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: April 11, 2007 8:45:44 PM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: UK Think Tank Says Blair Has Increased Threat of Terror,
Undermined Human Rights
Blair accused of fuelling terrorism
and undermining war on poverty
By Ben Russell and Nigel Morris
The Independent (UK), 11 April 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article2439545.ece
Tony Blair is accused today of fuelling terrorism and undermining
the campaign against world poverty with a series of foreign policy
errors.
A report by the Oxford Research Group (ORG), a think-tank, warned
that the "war on terror" had made the world more dangerous.
A separate study by Oxfam warned that Britain's ability to prevent
human rights abuses had been undermined by the invasion of Iraq and
a series of other foreign policy mistakes.
The charity said its workers worldwide had recorded a "disturbing
trend towards anti-Britishism" fuelled by perceived double
standards in UK foreign policy.
The ORG said levels of terrorism were rising, as was support for
hardline Islamist ideology. It warned the chance of future outrages
on the scale of 9/11 had increased in recent years.
Chris Abbott, the study's lead author, said: "There is a clear and
present danger in 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 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."
Endorsing its conclusion, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said: "The real
threat to global peace and stability lies in our failure to
recognise our interdependence -- that the well-being of the
privileged depends on the well-being of the marginalised."
Oxfam said it had to turn down British cash for its operations in
Iraq and Lebanon in case it was seen as too closely aligned with
government policy, and criticised the failure of ministers to call
for a ceasefire in last year's conflict in Lebanon. The report
urged Britain to "rebalance" its relationship with Washington and
help repair the damage that the Iraq invasion had inflicted on
international relations.
Barbara Stocking, director of Oxfam, said: "Labour's foreign policy
has been at its best when it has been in tune with public opinion
and international law.
"However, it is now clear that the invasion of Iraq, and the
Government's failure to stand up to governments when they break
international law and harm innocent people, have seriously damaged
Britain's capacity to be a force for good on the world stage."
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