Are we safer now then we were four years ago?

The whole premise of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is to make the world and especially the United States safe from terror. How are we doing so far? Not to well, it seems. From the Independent:

The US and British occupation of Iraq has accelerated recruitment to the ranks of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network and made the world a less safe place, according to a leading London-based think-tank.

The assessment, by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), states that the occupation has become "a potent global recruitment pretext" for al-Qa'ida, which now has more than 18,000 militants ready to strike Western targets.

Now before any of you say, "That's great, but what's your solution," I must say it is not my job to come up with a solution. And this does not mean I think we should have avoided war altogether, either. That is an entirely different subject. It is simply a statement reported by the IISS. Do with it what you will.

Now this, on the other hand, I can say I would not have done.

Beginning with the decision of Paul Bremer, the US head of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), to dissolve the Iraqi army - leaving a security vacuum - it criticises the occupation tactics of American troops who stayed in large fortified bases and only emerged in heavily armed patrols.

The report adds that later swoops, which led to mass arrests, and aggressive house searches "perversely inspired insurgent violence".

The report also highlights the shortcomings of US policy after the toppling of Saddam. It says: "The lawlessness and looting that greeted the liberation of Baghdad on 9 April 2003 was replaced by widespread criminality, violence and instability. A year later, US troops and newly constituted Iraqi forces faced an insurgency that had become a solid obstacle to rebuilding the country and moving it towards democracy and stability."

Unable to cope with the situation, the US is now acquiescing to the formation of new private militias similar to the one patrolling Fallujah, says the IISS.

Place the blame where you will.