If Bush and Blair were schoolboys...

President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed themselves to be the leaders of the worldwide battle for freedom against terrorism. They have confronted Al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan, Saddam Hussein and insurgents in Iraq and now Iran and Hamas in Palestine. The failures and successes of their leadership affect us all, and they have come under some fierce criticism. However, threats come at a fast pace, and we are all tempted to focus on the immediate issues only and miss the underlying weaknesses of their leadership.

If Mr Bush and Mr Blair were young schoolboys rallying support to beat up brutal bullies of the schoolyard to put an end to the terrorising of frightened schoolchildren, I would be among the first to join them. On the world stage they have shown idealism, courage and determination, exactly the kind of qualities needed to put bullies in their place in a schoolyard. Sadly, the world is not a schoolyard, and the Middle East and the surrounding region least of all. Also, Mr Bush and Mr Blair are not merely individuals offering their qualities of leadership to get rid of bullies in positions of political power. They represent nations, which themselves have a history of bullying and dominating others.

Britain was a colonial power, also in the Middle East.

The US has intervened militarily in a number of countries. Sometimes it has done so to defend freedom and democracy. Other times American national interests have been the overriding factor, undermining rather than strengthening democracy. In the region of the Middle East American interests in the oil resources are obvious. Its one-sided support to Israel in the conflict with the Palestinians continues to sow distrust and anger in the Arab world.

I will not enter into the pros and cons of the invasion of Iraq, but neither the US nor Britain seem to have foreseen the degree of antagonistic feelings which the invasion and occupation have provoked among the Iraqis. People in most nations have a strong sense of national pride and a love for independence. These feelings have been severely offended. The abuse against Iraqi prisoners aggravated the situation further. If the project of democracy fails and Iraq descends into civil war, a possibility that is dangerously close, the US and Britain may wash their hands and blame it on religious enmities and other factors. However, they cannot escape the fact that the invasion and occupation have poured poison into the already harmful brew of anger and hatred, which the Iraqis consumed under Saddam Hussein.

When people are locked into situations of perpetual injustice, when people's rights are repeatedly being trodden upon, it affects the human psyche. This applies everywhere. It is not just a question of material and physical suffering and hardship. When a person's dignity receives one blow after another, the result is humiliation.

When people are humiliated, despair, hatred, self-rejection and meaninglessness begin to grow and occupy the space where hope, creativity, trust and responsibility are supposed to flourish. This destructive state of mind and emotions is receptive to fanatical ideas. Where there is constant humiliation of human beings there is a fertile environment for extremism.

Defusing The Humiliation Bomb was the headline of an article by Aleya El Bindari-Hammad, former executive director of the World Health Organisation, in the international magazine For A Change last autumn. She referred to psychologist and peace activist Evelin Gerda Lindner's words of humiliation being "the nuclear bomb of feelings".

After the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 there is a growing number of experts in the Western world on terrorism and Al-Qaeda. There are experts on Islam and on the Middle East. Informative books and documents abound. However, where are the experts on humiliation and how it affects people?

Britain should have gained experience and insight from the time when former colonies rose to achieve independence. The conflict in Northern Ireland also provides a few lessons.

The United States of America have real-life examples within their borders and history. The American nation was initially built through ethnic cleansing of large parts of its indigenous population. The country's economic progress was partly built on slavery, and although it was abolished nearly 150 years ago, Afro-Americans have had a long, humiliating struggle for equal rights. And the battle against discrimination is still not finished.

Many British and Americans have faced these painful realities. The governments of Mr Blair and Mr Bush, however, either overlook these realities or refuse to see them. One could explain it by saying that power blinds and that there is no hope for the powerful to become sensitive to the state of mind and emotions of the downtrodden. However, the rebuilding of Europe after World War II shows otherwise. The victors learnt from the aftermath of World War I that a humiliated Germany could not become a healthy member of the family of nations.

President Bush and Prime Minister Blair have the military power and know their vocabulary when explaining their visions and core values. Yet, both need to gain psychological insight into humiliation and its consequences in order to exercise adequate leadership in the battle for freedom.