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July 17, 2005
Chris Smith: Britain's Role In Iraq War 'Makes UK A Terror Target'
The Sunday Express of Britain reported July 17, 2005 that, "Labour former cabinet minister Chris Smith believes that Britain's participation in the Iraq war had made it more of a target for terrorists."
"But while Britain should change the flavour of its foreign policy, it was wrong to make a direct connection between Iraq and the attacks on London, he said," the Express reported in an unsigned article, adding: Mr Smith, who is set to take his seat in the House of Lords on Monday [July 18, 2005], told GMTV's The Sunday Programme: I am almost certain that the fact that we enthusiastically supported George Bush in his engagement in Iraq, and we participated in it, probably makes us as a country more vulnerable than we might have been.
He also said, according to the Express:
We'd have been vulnerable anyway. It probably makes us a bit more vulnerable.
It does not remove the blame that absolutely has to lie with the people who caused the bombing. The people responsible for the bombs were the bombers.If we position ourselves strongly on the side of justice and trying to work towards a solution in some of those great international issues, then I think, it changes the flavour of what we are doing internationally. "But what I wouldn't want to do is to make the explicit link [with Iraq] because I think it's not a terribly sensible way of trying to approach these things.
"I think he's back peddling. See "Iraq war 'makes UK a terror target'" for more details.
Posted by Munir Umrani at July 17, 2005 08:20 AM
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