BEIJING, Sept 11: China used the fourth anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks in the United States to criticize Washington’s ‘war on terror’, saying the campaign faced a ‘gloomy future’. A commentary issued by the official Xinhua news agency said although the ‘war on terror’ helped President George Bush get re-elected, it had not achieved much progress.

“At present, the United States is suffering a rising number of casualties and facing more problems in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said the editorial.

US troops were ‘increasingly bogged down’ in the Iraqi and Afghan ‘quagmires’ and the American people and their allies faced more threats of attacks from Al Qaeda and other groups, Xinhua said.

In Afghanistan, the overthrown Taliban and Al Qaeda were staging a comeback and recruiting worldwide, thus making it almost impossible to forestall every terrorist attack, Xinhua said.

Post-Saddam Iraq was witnessing a worsening security situation, a fierce power struggle among the political parties, and a difficult start to reconstruction of the country, according to Xinhua’s assessment.

“After 9/11, the US government has gradually pushed ahead with a strategy characterized by unilateralism and pre-emptive strike, which has become both America’s national security strategy and guidelines in the fight against terrorism,” Xinhua said.

“However, the strategy has proved not feasible. Although it easily toppled the Saddam Hussein regime by means of war, the US administration later stumbled in the process of helping build a ‘democratic and free Iraq’.”

Xinhua blamed the problem on the US invading Iraq without strong support from the United Nations and the international community, or the understanding and cooperation of the Iraqi public.—AFP