The "war on terror" declared by American President George W. Bush after the September 11, 2001 attacks has caused more terrorism than it prevented, Syria's foreign minister said on Thursday. On the seventh anniversary of the attacks on the United States, Walid al-Moualem noted Washington had ignored Syria's advice not to rely on force to stop terrorism.
"As we said to President Bush shortly after the tragic events on September 11, the fight against terrorism must begin at the roots, at the cause of terrorism," al-Moualem told a news conference in Rome. "The last thing we should use if that fails is the use of force, as a last resort. Unfortunately they have made the use of force the beginning and the end of the fight against terrorism and thus terrorism is much more widespread today than before."
The Syrian minister rejected the American claims that Hizbullah and Hamas are terrorist organizations. "Hizbullah and Hamas are not terrorists, they are national resistance movements against occupation," al-Moualem said. "Whilst there is occupation there will be national resistance movements."
