The terrorist are losing

Con Coughlin:

"We are winning the war on terror. To some this statement might appear somewhat rash in view of how 2003 is drawing to a close. French flights to America cancelled because of a potential threat by al-Qaeda; a failed assassination attempt (the second this month) against President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan; and yet more US troops killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq.

...

"The most significant policy shift to emerge in Washington and, to a lesser extent, in London following the September 11 attacks was the introduction of the policy of pre-emption - hitting your enemy hard before they have the chance to hit you.

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"When assessed on the basis of these criteria, then, the war on terror does not appear to be quite the calamity that some of its critics would have us believe. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which for many years provided a safe haven for bin Laden and his followers, has been decisively defeated, and bin Laden's operational infrastructure uprooted.

"Many of bin Laden's key aides have been killed while others are in American custody - including some of those responsible for planning the September 11 attacks - and have revealed many details about al-Qaeda's methods and infrastructure to their interrogators.

"This information has resulted in many terror attacks being foiled, including a planned attack on the British embassy in Yemen and a repeat run of the September 11 attacks, with a hijacked civilian airliner crashing into Las Vegas over Christmas....

"When President Bush first declared war on international terrorist groups and their supporters, most military and intelligence experts predicted that it would take at least 10 years before the conflict was concluded. And yet after just two years those involved in waging the war on Islamic terror groups can congratulate themselves on a number of impressive achievements.

"While the overthrow of Saddam and the defeat of the Taliban presented the greater military challenges, the breakthrough that should in my view have the most profound impact on the campaign against global terrorism and the illicit procurement of weapons of mass destruction is undoubtedly Gaddafi's decision to open up his secret stockpiles to UN inspectors."

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