LONDON -- A London weekly headed a recent issue with photos of U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair and with the caption "Sincere Deceivers?" Perhaps they were sincere in their belief that Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was a threat to U.S. and British national interests, but the facts are that no weapons of mass destruction have been found and, although no right-minded person regrets the toppling of Hussein, the war caused many thousands of Iraqi casualties, to say nothing of allied dead.
The occupation was so mishandled that life for the ordinary Iraqi remains insecure. There is no reason to think that the world is any safer from the threat of terrorism as a result of regime change in Iraq. Indeed, because of the chaos in Iraq and the ineptitude and insensitivity of the occupation, it may well have become more dangerous. Terrorism cannot be eradicated by firepower and technology. The fight must be won not only by demonstrating that terrorism will not be allowed to win but also by moving toward a world where human values are upheld and where ends, however worthy, are not allowed to justify means that are contrary to basic human rights.
Holding prisoners without trial at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and maltreating others at Abu Ghraib undermine the basis of the fight against terrorism and should be unacceptable in a civilized society.