Rimington spent years running covert agents and averting the plans of terrorists from Northern Ireland to the Middle East.

She was MI5's counter-terrorism director in the 1980s

"when we were dealing not only with the IRA but also the beginnings of international terrorism as we called it even then".

"Terrorism, in my experience, is ultimately not defeated by the police, the intelligence services or the army,"

"What bought the IRA to talk to the government was the fact their attacks were not being successful, so they thought about turning to some other means.

"But these things take time, and I think this particular outbreak of terrorism is going to take a very long time to reach that point.

"And of course Iraq hasn't helped because it provided, effectively, a recruiting ground.

"I do feel that it is absolutely essential to try and tackle the underlying issues, but they are very complex issues. Ultimately, the only way all this is going to be solved is not by declaring a war on terror; it's by trying to address these underlying issues."

The Advertiser Review, September 2, 2006, page 11

(My emphasis)

In his occasional sorties over at LP, Currency Lad maintains that the regime didn't lie in the buildup to the Iraq invasion, and that it was a success and the neocons were right.

What is spooky is that CL is not regarded as a RWDB, only moderate right. Where do all the rest stand?

Seriously, just what will it take for the idiots running, and I use the world in its extremely loosest form, this war to understand that flattening whole cities and murdering the indigenous 'collaterals' is no way to win hearts and minds?