That's the quick assessment of Britain's participation in the "war on terror":
Britain's military operations since the end of the cold war have cost £34.7bn and a further £30bn may have to be spent on long-term veteran care, according to an authoritative study.
The bulk [£30 billion - I/S] of the money has been spent on interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan judged to have been "strategic failures", says the study, Wars in Peace, published by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
In comments with particular resonance in the light of Tony Blair's speech on Wednesday exhorting the west to do more to defeat Islamic extremism, the RUSI study concludes that "there is no longer any serious disagreement" that Britain's role in the Iraq war served to channel and increase the radicalisation of young Muslims in the UK.
So much for "fighting them overseas to prevent terrorism at home". These vastly expensive wars, with their huge cost in money and human life have had exactly the opposite effect. Anyone who wasn't on Blairite kool-aid knew that from the start; the question is why the British establishment didn't, why they still fail to admit it, and when (if ever) those responsible for this senseless waste will be held to account.
