Us & Israel; alone

[Ian Murray]

Increasingly, it is now evident that the U.S. will have to wage the next phase of its war on terror
with only Israel by its side. The Labour government in the U.K. has recently been riven with open
dissension over the unquestioning support that has been extended so far to the U.S. Clare Short,
Secretary of State for International Development, hinted that she would consider resigning if the
U.K. were to join in a campaign against Iraq. Home Secretary David Blunkett has warned of the
possibility of large-scale civil disturbances if the U.K. were to go along with the U.S. And former
Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, who is currently the leader of the House of Commons, has also added
his voice to the chorus of dissent. Six months on from September 11, even as the Afghan frontier
remains unpacified, the U.S. is perhaps facing its moment of most acute isolation. Few, however,
seem to imagine that the country that today imagines that it can function as a matchlessly powerful
imperial arbiter accountable to none, will derive the appropriate lessons from its isolation. The
war on terrorism is perhaps on the verge of unveiling new horrors that the world could take long to
recover from.

Full piece:
< http://www.hinduonnnet.com/fline >