London, UK, June 21, 2007 – The admission by the British Ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, that the UK "should be thinking in terms of decades" of occupation in Afghanistan blows away the oft repeated denials that the US and UK do not intend to stay in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Ambassador's comments come after the 30th May statement by President Bush's spokesman, Tony Snow that the US envisages a presence in Iraq similar to its presence in South Korea – a presence that has so far lasted over 50 years. Snow said "I think the point he's (Bush) trying to make is that the situation in Iraq, and indeed, the larger war on terror, are things that are going to take a long time. But it is not always going to require an up-front combat presence."

Dr Imran Waheed, media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, said, "Blair's support for the brutal dictator Gadaffi, the death of Baha Mousa in British custody, Abu Ghraib, the deaths of over 650,000 civilians in Iraq and the support for Mubarak, Musharraf and other brutal dictators are only some of the many consequences of Western government interference in the Muslim world."

"The formula of colonial interference is to initially paint it as well intentioned policies, and once in, new excuses are found to prolong intervention despite the consequences. The war on terror has become the latest excuse for supporting dictators and continuing the pernicious, centuries old interference of western governments in the Muslim world."

"It is no wonder that the people of the region are increasingly looking to the return of the Islamic Caliphate as a means to end decades of western interference. The Caliphate will have a truly independent foreign policy, ending the era of corporate exploitation and oppressive western backed dictators."

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