Paul Rogers is one of the world's leading security experts. Since the 11 September attacks, he has been a regular guest on TV news channels throughout America and Britain, where he has offered expert advice on the real implications of 9/11 and Bush's 'war on terror'. His articles in newspapers around the world, and in the web journal Open Democracy, have become essential reading for many thousands of people, including government officials, senior military, heads of UN agencies, opinion formers, journalists and peace activists.  A War on Terror is Paul Roger's radical assessment of Bush's new policy, the way it has affected world security and the grave implications that it holds for future peace, not only in the Middle East but throughout the world. Moving from the war in Afghanistan and its aftermath to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the continuing development of al-Qaida and its associates through to the war on Iraq, Rogers presents a uniquely cogent analysis of these rapid and traumatic events. In a world in which the US and other states of the Atlantic community are increasingly speaking a different language to that of the majority of the world, Paul Rogers offers a vital critical assessment of the language of dominance and control as 'the New American Century' unfolds. For the US, in particular, the post-9/11 world is one in which it is essential to maintain firm control of international security, extending to pre-emptive military action. In this book, Rogers demonstrates how futile, mistaken and deeply counter-productive that belief is, and points the way to more effective routes to a more just and secure world. Paul Rogers is Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University where he teaches courses on international security and political violence. He lectures at universities and defence colleges in several countries and his publications include 26 books. He regularly appears on radio and television. A War on Terror Afghanistan and After By Paul Rogers Pluto Press Copyright © 2004 Paul Rogers All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-7453-2086-1 Contents Acknowledgements, vi, Introduction, 1, 1 War in Afghanistan – I, 3, 2 War in Afghanistan – II, 30, 3 A New American Century?, 55, 4 Consequences of War, 85, 5 Israel and Palestine, 109, 6 Winning or Losing?, 139, 7 Endless War, 163, Afterword, 197, Index, 201, CHAPTER 1 War in Afghanistan – I Almost immediately after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, the al-Qaida network was identified as responsible for the atrocities, and its host Taliban regime in Afghanistan was thus seen as a prime part of the enemy in President Bush's declared 'war on terror'. There was therefore some surprise that the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan did not start for several weeks. People remembered President Clinton's rapid use of cruise missiles against targets in Sudan and Afghanistan in response to the bombing of US embassies in East Africa, and there was an expectation of immediate retaliation. In practice, such attacks would have been little more than symbolic, and the US military therefore developed plans for much more substantial military action, aware of the requirement to finish the war before the onset of winter. The main problems for the military were the lack of nearby bases from which to launch an attack, and the risk to US troops of engaging in ground conflict against Taliban and al-Qaida guerrilla forces. This chapter records developments over the first eight weeks of the war and shows the importance of the use of Northern Alliance forces in combination with US air power. Essentially, the United States took the option of taking sides in the long-running Afghanistan civil war, even though the human rights record of the Northern Alliance was little better than that of the Taliban. For the first four weeks of the war, there appeared to be little progress with the US war aims, but the impact of the rearming of the Northern Alliance forces in combination with the US bombing campaign was crucial and ultimately had its effect. At the same time, and even within just a few weeks of the start of the war, two other issues were becoming apparent. One was that there were significant civilian casualties being caused, partly through targeting errors and partly through the use of area impact munitions (AIMs). The other was that there were already signs that the Taliban and al-Qaida groups were frequently withdrawing rather than fighting, a tactic that was to have long-term significance, given that the US military had little interest in a lengthy presence in Afghanistan. In the wider 'war on terror', there were already firm indications that the security hawks in Washington had their sights set on the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. There were also two further developments that provided markers for the future. One was the substantial number of people taken into custody in the United States, coupled with a presidential di