If US President George W. Bush ever found time between biking, jogging, tree-felling, sleeping and ordering around British Prime Minister Tony Blair to read the papers, he may have said "a curse on British intellectuals" or, at least, a more colourful Texan version.
There he was thinking he was a good fairy sprinkling democracy and freedom all over the Middle East, while trying to wrest the region from "evildoers," when the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) puts a major spoke in the wheel.
In a report, titled Iran, Its Neighbours and the Regional Crises, Chatham House's high-profile team of analysts conclude, "Iran has been the chief beneficiary of the war on terror in the Middle East." Oops!
Their reasoning boils down to this: "The wars and continued weaknesses in Afghanistan and Iraq" have strengthened Iran by knocking out two of Iran's major adversaries, the Taliban and Saddam Hussain's Ba'athist regime.
OnLineJournal
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
