[Mb-civic] Iraq 'is al-Qaeda battleground BBC

[Michael Butler]

 Iraq 'is al-Qaeda battleground'
 Iraq has become a "battleground" for al-Qaeda, MPs have warned in a report
on the war on terrorism.

 The Commons foreign affairs committee says there are too few foreign troops
in Iraq and Muslim states should be encouraged to send forces.

 The MPs say Iraqi forces are still a long way from being able to ensure
security in their country.

 The report also says Afghanistan could implode with "terrible consequences"
without more foreign troops.

 Donald Anderson, the committee's Labour chairman, said the Iraq war might
well have increased the terror threat in the short term, although it was too
early to assess its long term impact.

 The wide-ranging findings are the latest instalment in the MPs'
long-running investigation into the war against terrorism.

 Among the other findings are:

    €      The MPs are "very concerned" key information on intelligence and
alleged human rights abuses by British troops was withheld from ministers
and senior government officials

    €      The credibility of the UK in Iraq has been damaged by the failure
to meet Iraqi expectations on the provision of basic services, such as water
and electricity

    €      People from the UK have been named in documents about alleged
corruption in the Oil-for-Food programme in Iraq

    €      Russian support for Iran's nuclear activities "could risk
contributing to the spread of weapons of mass destruction capabilities in
the Middle East"

 Law vacuum 

 Wednesday's suicide bombing in Iraq, which killed 68 people, underlined the
continued security problems in Iraq.

 The MPs blame the violence on a range of groups, including former members
of Saddam Hussein's regime, local Islamists, criminal gangs and al-Qaeda.

 "Iraq has become a 'battleground' for al-Qaeda, with appalling consequences
for the Iraqi people.

 The Iraqi police and army remain a long way from being able to maintain
security."  
  Foreign affairs committee
 

 "However, we also conclude that the coalition's failure to bring law and
order to parts of Iraq created a vacuum into which criminal elements and
militias have stepped."

 The report says the failure of countries other than the US and UK to send
significant numbers of troops to Iraq has brought "serious and regrettable
consequences".

 Muslim forces 

 Mr Anderson said involving more troops from Muslim countries would answer
conspiracy theorists who believed the Iraq war was over oil.

 He highlighted Saudi Arabia's proposal for a new military force drawn
exclusively from Muslim countries.

 "The fact is if there were not that support to help the Iraqi government in
terms of security, in the short term there is a real danger of Iraq becoming
a failed state that would be a danger not only to its own fragmented
groups... but to the countries in the region," he said.

 A couple of rockets landed at night, there are periodic warnings of
kidnappings and curfews in most cities
  Paul Barker, CARE International
 

 The MPs praise the UK government for helping in the formation of Iraq
security forces.

 But they continue: "We conclude that the Iraqi police and army remain a
long way from being able to maintain security."

 The Foreign Office acknowledges people sympathetic with al-Qaeda are behind
some of the Iraq violence but say it would be wrong to think the terror
network would have withered away if there had been no war.

 Precarious 

 Tony Blair recently denied suggestions that Afghanistan had become a
"forgotten" country amid complaints from some of the MPs on the committee
who visited the country.

 The MPs back Afghan President Hamid Karzai's call for Nato's International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to be given more resources.

 Conservative committee member Sir John Stanley told reporters that security
in Afghanistan was "on a knife edge".

 Nato must answer President Karzai's call for more help, he said, warning of
the consequences of failure.

 "We could end up with a situation that everything we have tried to achieve
could be set back almost to square one," added Sir John.

 The MPs say there are no signs the war against Afghan opium production is
being won - in fact, in the short term, things appear to be getting worse.

 Committee chairman Donald Anderson said the problem was a clear example of
how foreign policy could impact on British streets, where 90% of heroin came
from Afghanistan.

 The Foreign Office says it is working on the problem but stresses there are
long-term social and economic factors which would not change overnight.

 Story from BBC NEWS:
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3935755.stm

 Published: 2004/07/29 19:00:31 GMT

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