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From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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5 THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM HUMANITARIAN RELIEFinvest in conflict zones. The international community must also get <strong>to</strong>grips with those international banks, engineering companies, andprivate security firms that seek <strong>to</strong> profit from continued conflict.SECURITY AND THE ‘WAR ON TERROR’The aftermath of the attacks on the USA of 11 September 2001 has hada profound, and in many ways disastrous, impact on internationalefforts <strong>to</strong> prevent and resolve conflict. The political agendas in manyof the most powerful countries have shifted away from addressingcauses <strong>to</strong>wards policing consequences, and the West has slipped backin<strong>to</strong> a Cold War-style paradigm of protracted war. In retrospect, the1990s look like a brief interlude in a bleak panorama dominated by anoverwhelming focus on military security. Moreover, the struggleagainst terrorism has itself become another vicious circle, with terrorism,the global ‘war on terror’, and other brutal counter-insurgencycampaigns each fuelling one another.The ‘war on terror’ confronts a genuine threat. However, it hasrelaxed controls on arming human rights abusers in countries such asGeorgia and Pakistan, has increased restrictive measures in developedcountries against asylum seekers and refugees, and has exacerbatedxenophobic reactions <strong>to</strong> immigration. 211 People fleeing terror arefinding themselves denied protection, in the very name of the ‘war onterror’. Relief agencies also find their ability <strong>to</strong> provide assistancewithout interference from combatants in conflicts curtailed in manycountries, along with the freedom of civil society organisations<strong>to</strong> operate.The ‘war on terror’ has also undermined attempts <strong>to</strong> improvehuman rights and governance, as the US government and others havelost the moral high ground, as well as their interest in the problem. In2005 it became clear that the use of <strong>to</strong>rture was effectively US policy. 212Signing up <strong>to</strong> the ‘war on terror’ has given governments carte blanche<strong>to</strong> ignore challenges on human rights and governance, a loophole thathas been exploited by governments from Chechnya <strong>to</strong> Israel <strong>to</strong>Zimbabwe.Because the ‘war on terror’ sees conflict as a military struggle <strong>to</strong>vanquish enemies, it fails <strong>to</strong> address the political, social, and economic401

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