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US 'war on terror' seen as failure - poll

The US "war on terror" has failed to weaken its prime target Al Qaida, according to a majority of people surveyed in a global opinion poll for the BBC.

  • Bloomberg
  • Published: 09:32 September 29, 2008
  • Gulf News

London: The US "war on terror" has failed to weaken its prime target Al Qaida, according to a majority of people surveyed in a global opinion poll for the BBC.

Thirty per cent of those questioned said President George W. Bush's campaign has made the terrorist network stronger, while 29 per cent said it had no effect. Only 22 per cent said Al Qaida has been weakened.

"Despite its overwhelming military power, America's war against Al Qaida is widely seen as having achieved nothing better than a stalemate and many believe that it has even strengthened Al Qaida," Steven Kull, director of the US-based Programme on International Policy Attitudes, said in a statement accompanying the poll released late on Sunday.

The Bush administration began the campaign seven years ago after the September 11 attacks on the US, leading an international coalition that toppled Afghanistan's Taliban regime for failing to hand over Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

US intelligence agencies say the network now has a haven in tribal areas in neighboring Pakistan from which it directs the Taliban insurgency and plans attacks against the West.

There have been no confirmed sightings of bin Laden since he escaped US-led forces in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan in December 2001.

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