War is won but peace may be lost

THE forgotten dead of Iraq represent a dark stain on the conscience of humanity.

While the world came to a halt, and understandably so, with the bombing of London, not a day passes but scores of innocent civilians are slaughtered in Iraq.

An estimated death toll of nearly 25,000 civilians since the US-led invasion in March 2003 is chilling proof that having won the war, America and Britain are gravely in danger of losing the peace.

Carried out by the aptly-named Iraq Body Count, and the Oxford Research Group, made up of academics and peace activists, the survey claims that 37% of all non-combatant deaths were caused by US-led forces.

Increasingly, the tragic irony is that Islamic fundamentalists are now causing carnage with suicide attacks on their fellow Muslims. The sooner democracy takes root in Iraq the better for all.