Many adjectives have been bandied about to describe US foreign policy at the onset of 2007. Few are positive. Carlos Pascual, vice-president of the Brookings Institution think-tank and a former Bush administration official, sees the chaos in Iraq having the potential to cause a “huge security and humanitarian tragedy” inside the country and beyond.
The UN refugee agency estimates 40,000 to 50,000 Iraqis flee their homes each month, with many leaving the country. It forecasts 2.3m internally displaced people by the end of this year.
