Five years on but no closer to winning the war on terror

5.28.13pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 11th Sep 2006

On the fifth anniversary of the attack of the World Trade Centre in New York, the leader of the Liberal and Democrat group in the European Parliament, Graham Watson MEP, criticised the ineffectual and counter-productive strategy of those leading the 'war on terror'.

"This anniversary reminds us of the tragic events of 9/11 that changed the course of the 21st century. But the loss of innocent life that day has been tragically compounded by a short-sighted and simplistic approach to combating the terrorist threat."

"More people have now been killed by the post 9/11 war on terror than on that day itself, few people feel any safer as they go about their daily lives and political opinion has begun to turn hostile against those championing the 'war on terror'."

"If there is a war of sorts it is more psychological than conventional. Terrorism is a tactic, not an enemy. We need to fight it with all the intellectual, moral, judicial and, where necessary, military means at our disposal without succumbing to an Orwellian type society in the process."