Is the now inevitable war in Iraq going to be detrimental to the US being liked in the world? I would have guessed it, and so would most people. Matthew Engel is one of them and he writes a good story on it. He argues that rather than combating al-Qaida, the Bush rhetoric on Iraq is actually reinforcing dissent against the US, and may well lead to yet more terrorist attacks.
What has Osama bin Laden’s problem been all along – if anyone actually listened to what he said – his problem is the presence of American troops on the Arabian peninsula, no-fly zones, and the sanctions that are killing a disputed number of people in Iraq. So obviously the solution is to invade Iraq and kill lots of Muslims? Hmm. Unfortunately I think we can expect more September 11-type events.