No Gulf War regrets for leaders

The Gulf War ended 10 years ago

Former Prime Minister John Major has joined with ex-US president George Bush in defending the decison not to try to kill or capture Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during the 1991 Gulf War.

Speaking on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the launching of Operation Desert Storm, Mr Major said any other decision would have violated international law and angered some of the coalition allies.

"I passionately believe the correct decision was taken to stop the war at that time," Mr Major told the audience at the Texas A&M University.

Mr Bush, whose son George W has now inherited the presidency, said while he thought the war was well-executed and the right decisions were made, he admitted underestimating the Iraqi leader's "brutal" hold on power.

I honestly thought and so did every Arab leader...that given the pounding Saddam Hussein took, he couldn't survive.

Former President George Bush

"I honestly thought and so did every Arab leader...that given the pounding Saddam Hussein took, he couldn't survive.

"He did, but he did through total brutality of his own people... we underestimated the tyranny," Mr Bush said.

But he added: "I really can't think of any fundamental mistakes (we made)".

Major attended the anniversary event in the US

The former president said the world had to maintain pressure "very, very strongly" on President Saddam to comply with international law and the terms of surrender he agreed to at the end of the war.

Retired US general and Gulf War commander Norman Schwarzkopf, who joined the two former leaders on the panel, said he had just one regret.

Intense bombing

He said he wished allied bombers could have destroyed a statue of President Saddam which stood in the centre of Baghdad.

Advisers ruled it out because of the possibility that civilians would be killed but he said: "I really wish we'd blown that up."

Western forces had only few casualties during the Gulf War

The allied ground offensive, which followed 38 days of intense bombing of Iraqi military positions, lasted just 100 hours before the Iraqis surrendered their positions in Kuwait.

Summing up the importance of the war, Mr Bush said "it simply made a moral, profound statement" against aggression.

The Iraqi leader now poses a problem for Mr Bush's son who, with the help of UK forces, launched air strikes on Iraq last week, as part of the enforcement of a "no-fly" zone imposed after the Gulf War.

Critics claim the sanctions imposed on Iraq after the Gulf War have failed to achieve their aim and have simply led to the deaths of thousands of Iraqi children.

But opponents of the sanctions, both in the US and the UK, have failed to undermine London or Washington's commitment to them.