London, UK, November 8 – The defeat of Bush's Republican Party in the
US mid-term elections is the latest evidence that everyone, except Bush
and Blair, realises that the disastrous and illegal Iraq war has been a
resounding failure.

 
Following the election results, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, poised to become the chamber's first female Speaker, spoke of the need for a new direction in Iraq. "We cannot continue down this catastrophic path," she said. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll found that Iraq is the single most powerful issue shaping the public mood in the USA. A record 35% said that the war in Iraq was going badly for the US, with 58% saying that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake. The editorial of the New York Times warned that Iraq "may become the worst foreign policy debacle in American history".
 
In the UK, a high ranking former diplomat, Carne Ross, told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, that the UK's Iraq policy was a 'rank disaster'. He said that the intelligence presented to the public about WMD was 'manipulated' and questioned the legality of the war.
 
Dr Imran Waheed, media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, said, "Despite the spin of Bush and Blair about the situation in Iraq, the electorate can see the abject failure of the disastrous Iraq war and the crimes being committed in their name. The US mid-term elections were a referendum on the colonial foreign policy that led to the Iraq war and the continued support for dictators in the Muslim world. The people of the West have realised that Bush and Blair placed young soldiers in harm's way to illegally invade Iraq, install a loyal and subservient regime and fatten the profits of corporations. The time has come for foreign troops to end their illegal occupation of Iraq."
 
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