One year after the Iraq war, Britons feel much more threatened by terrorism than they did before the war, China's leading newspaper People's Daily said in an article on Monday.  

Tens of thousands of Britons poured into London streets on Saturday's anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, urging a withdrawal of British troops from Iraq and demanding an end to the occupation by coalition forces.

More and more Britons have deeply doubted Prime Minister Tony Blair's excuse for actively lending a hand in the war, that is the former Iraqi regime owned stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and became a severe threat to the world peace and safety, said the article by Shi Xiaohui.

In the past year, the British government spent billions of pounds and mobilized national defense forces for the Iraq war and saw many British casualties in the battlefield.

What kind of picture have Britons witnessed in Iraq after the Blair government paid such a high price to unveil Saddam Hussein's inside stories?

An article in the British newspaper The Independent was quoted as saying that until now no WMDs have been found in Iraq, no clues hint that Saddam is linked to the terrorist group al-Qaeda, and Iraqis are far from enjoying the promised peace and democracy.

But the Iraq war has changed Britons' life and social order to a great extent.

Firstly, the war launched under the name of anti-terrorism makes Britons feel they are closer to terrorist attacks instead of being farther from them.

One year ago, Britons may only imagine the terrorist threats from Saddam by "intelligence" announced by Blair. And almost none of them believed terrorist attacks would come upon the land of the United Kingdom.

However, Britons now watch on TV familiar suicide bombings, clashes and casualties in Baghdad, Istanbul, Madrid and other places of the world. Many Britons are convinced that dark clouds of terrorist attacks are coming closer and closer, and many Londoners think their city will suffer deadly attacks soon or later.

Among increasingly frequent terror alerts, Britain takes various measures to protect itself. The Westminster parliament hall in London is surrounded by newly-built cement blockades, and the Heathrow international airport has been deployed with many more armed police officers.

Before entering into some major spots in Britain such as parliament hall, Ministry of Finance and Foreign Ministry, people have to wait very long to receive security checks as strict as those they come across when landing on planes. And flights from Britain to the Unites States are possible to be canceled at any moment due to terror alarms.

The magnitude of Britain's police forces has climbed up to the highest level for the past 70 years.

Secondly, the power of British police has been increased amid citizens' decreased rights and freedom.

Over the past year, British police officers have been bestowed with greater power because of the possible terrorist assaults.

A lately implemented anti-terror law has broken the rule that anyone can't be arrested before necessary proof is acquired. The law regulates that police have the power to detain anyone who is suspected of involving in terrorism before collecting enough evidences.

Also serving the anti-terror aim, lawyers, accountants and bank clerks are deprived of the original privilege to protect clients' privacy, and no one is permitted to reject security agents' demand for cooperation in investigation.

The article by The Independent insisted that any dignity in British society is in danger.

Thirdly, many more Britons believe the Iraq war is a mistake and less ones still trust the prime minister.

The Independent says the Iraq war should not have been waged a tall.

Even the most pessimistic views before the war may haven't anticipated the weakness of the excuse for the war and the seriousness of its consequences.

Hundreds of British-US coalition forces were killed in Iraq, and thousands of Iraqi soldiers and citizens also lost their lives.

Iraq now is a war-torn and split country, which is seeking the return of sovereignty from western powers and tries to keep away civil conflicts.

The majority of Britons now stick to the firm belief that Blair has lied on the Iraqi issue. The Independent said the Iraq war is a catastrophe, which makes the world farther from security and peace. The war was launched because of a historical mistake due to wrong judgment, the newspaper said.

Blair has lost his most important political assets, namely British voters' trust in his sense of judgment. Blair swore to take democracy and freedom to Iraq, only to bring terrorist threats to Britain, the article said.

At the anniversary of the war, British media and anti-war protestors demanded that the United Stated and Britain deliver the Iraqi issue to the United Nations, a widely accepted international bloc, and send the administration of Iraq back to Iraqis as soon as possible.

The United States and Britain should return the Mideast country's sovereignty to Iraqis before June 30, not for serving George W. Bush's campaigning for the second-term presidency, but only for abiding by their promises.

Only in this way can the two countries avoid making a new "historical mistake," the article concluded.

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2004)