After 5 years: GWOT ripple effects around the world

i have a long-standing interest in other countries' views on world affairs... raw story has done a great service by offering this round-up from deutshce press...

• ASIA: Hard-line Islamic organizations have become more radical as they capitalize on anger over perceived US bullying, experts say, and "extremist groups that were modest in size have grown significantly," said Rohan Gunaratna, a regional terrorism analyst.

• ISRAEL: [T]he Israeli-Palestinian conflict has come to be seen as one of the reasons for the rise of militant Islam.

• IRAN: Tehran's influence in the Middle East has been strengthened by the US-led war against terrorism [and the] Israel-Hamas/Hezbollah conflicts have further destabilized the region - a development wich has strengthened Iran's position and given it confidence in Tehran's conflict with the West over its nuclear programme.

• RUSSIA: [T]he Kremlin has increasingly linked Islamic rebel forces in Chechnya with international terrorism, deflecting foreign criticism of the brutal conduct of Russian troops in the separatist republic.

• SPAIN: New Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero recalled Spanish troops from Iraq and switched from an Atlanticist to a pro- European foreign policy.

• AFRICA: Africa's domestic problems, poor records of governance, and its sheer physical space could further turn the continent into a safe haven and a resource for international terrorists.

and, from my current perspective in argentina, i can vouch for the accuracy of the following...

• LATIN AMERICA: The 9/11 attacks and the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq brought to the surface strong underlying dislike for the United States, with many interpreting the attacks as a retribution for past wrongs in the region. Hebe de Bonafini, head of the Argentine human rights organization Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, brutally summed up the attitude. Her two sons were killed under the US-backed Argentina dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. "When the attack happened ... I felt happiness. It didn't hurt me at all, because, as I always say in my speeches, our dead children will be avenged," said Bonafini. Her opinion strikes a lasting chord among many Latin Americans who feel that the US - an active supporter of murderous dictatorships across the region in the 1970s and 1980s - cannot be considered an innocent victim of terrorist attacks.

yes, the above is a cold and harsh assessment, but, at the same time, it is foolish denial to make the claim that, in 9/11, the u.s. was not reaping some of what it has sown over the years...

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