HEADLINES:
R/€ 
R/£ 'World more dangerous now'
September 12, 2007 Edition 1
LONDON: The world was far less safe now than on September 11 2001 because of United States President George W Bush's reaction to the attacks, notably in Iraq, the general who led UN forces in Bosnia said yesterday.
British General Sir Michael Rose praised the US invasion of Afghanistan in the immediate wake of the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York, saying the "war on terror" had got off to a "brilliant start."
"Instead of following up the military defeat of the Taliban with civil action and ensuring permanent security, President Bush, in his haste and ignorance, transferred his attentions to Iraq.
"The result is that the world is far less safe today than before he declared his war," he wrote in the Daily Mail, adding that Afghanistan remained unstable and the Taliban had regrouped.
Meanwhile, a senior British member of parliament said that the US policy of extraordinary rendition of terrorism suspects would boost the risk of future terrorist attacks.
"The devastating terrorist attacks six years ago to this day shocked the world," said Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie, who heads an all-party committee on extraordinary rendition.
"But the battle against extremism can only be won from the moral high ground," he said.
Tyrie added: "Kidnapping and torture corrode the very values that we are seeking to export and make future attacks more likely, not less."
In other comments on the sixth anniversary of the attacks, a British engineering expert praised the designers of the World Trade Centre for creating buildings that stood up for as long as they did after being hit by planes.
"It is widely acknowledged that the impacts on September 11 were extraordinary, which led to consequences well in excess of the design capacity for the buildings," said Keith Seffen, of Cambridge University.
"The original design of both towers must be praised for standing as long as they did, saving more lives than might have been expected." - Sapa-AFP
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