Introduction
1. On 20 November 2003, huge explosions tore apart
the British Consulate-General and the HSBC Bank in Istanbul. These
two terrorist attacks resulted in the deaths of ten of the Consulate-General
staff—British and Turkish—and twenty two other innocent
people. The attacks remind us that fighting international terrorism
is as crucial for British security and British interests now as
it was immediately after the atrocities of 11 September 2001.
2. This Report is the fourth of our Inquiry into
Foreign Policy Aspects of the War against Terrorism.[1]
The range of the Inquiry has been broad: in previous Reports,
we examined the Government's response to the attacks on the United
States; its role in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan;
and its efforts to mobilise an international coalition against
terrorism, in the United Nations and through other multilateral
initiatives. We have made regular assessments of initiatives to
dismantle al Qaeda and associated terrorist networks, since they
began in late 2001. We have also examined the United Kingdom's
policy on Iraq, which led to substantial diplomatic rifts with
its allies in the Security Council and the European Union, and
to British engagement in the war which overthrew the regime of
Saddam Hussein. In addition, we have considered the law of pre-emptive
defence or anticipatory self-defence.[2]
3. In this Report, we continue with our assessments
of the fight against al Qaeda and international terrorism, and
of the situation in Iraq. We also focus on the Middle East region,
and assess the role played by governments there in fighting international
terrorism. Our analysis and conclusions, set out in this Report,
have been informed by a series of visits to Syria, Jordan, Iran,
Israel and Palestine. Three members of the Committee also visited
Iraq in mid-December. We are very grateful to the politicians,
officials, journalists and members of civil society organisations
who met us during these visits, to the British diplomatic and
consular staff who organised them, and to all those who have submitted
written and oral evidence to assist us in this Inquiry.
1 Tenth Report from the Foreign Affairs Committee,
Session 2002-03, Foreign Policy Aspects of the War Against
Terrorism, HC 405; Second Report from the Foreign Affairs
Committee, Session 2002-03, Foreign Policy Aspects of the War
Against Terrorism, HC 196; Seventh Report from the Foreign
Affairs Committee, Session 2001-02, Foreign Policy Aspects
of the War Against Terrorism, HC 384. Back
2
HC (2002-03) 405, para 248; HC (2002-03) 196, paras 141, 151-161. Back
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