When antiwar activists state the obvious it doesn’t make headlines in the corporate media. No, it takes a think tank to analyze the facts and come to the same conclusion in an official report before people can finally acknowledge what they’ve known for 6 years.

Of course, that’s not to say that this advice will be taken any more seriously by the administration. It’s not ignorance of the facts which has led to this disastrous policy. The administration is quite aware of these problems and how to solve them. It’s simply not a concern. Their only objective is squeezing as much money out of the death and misery of others as possible. The rest will be someone else’s problem.

A report by the Oxford Research Group (ORG) said a “fundamental re-think is required” if the global terrorist network is to be rendered ineffective.

“If the al Qaeda movement is to be countered, then the roots of its support must be understood and systematically undercut,” said Paul Rogers, the report’s author and professor of global peace studies at Bradford University in northern England.

“Combined with conventional policing and security measures, al Qaeda can be contained and minimized but this will require a change in policy at every level.”

He described the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq as a “disastrous mistake” which had helped establish a “most valued jihadist combat training zone” for al Qaeda supporters.

The report — Alternatives to the War on Terror — recommended the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq coupled with intensive diplomatic engagement in the region, including with Iran and Syria.

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