Tactics under review

Military tactics are under review.

In a HARDtalk interview on 26th March, Tim Sebastian talks to Colonel John Warden, the architect of US operations during the 1991 Gulf War; Moshe Arens, the former Israeli Defence Minister and Malcolm Rifkind, Britain's former Defence and Foreign Secretary

Despite covering a great deal of ground since entering Iraq from Kuwait last week, the panel say that the coalition forces still face numerous challenges:

"The real test is now happening as they face the Republican Guard who have never been witnessed in battle in the Gulf War," says Malcolm Rifkind.

There is a limited amount of time that this can go on

Colonel John Warden

The former British Cabinet Minister points out that while it is important to keep morale up and remind the public of successes, it is important that the Coalition not be too over-confident:

"You can't go over the top because the public ... in a democratic society must also be aware and be informed of the setbacks of the casualties, of the downside. That balance is a difficult one".

Iraqi resistance has been very determined - and something of a surprise to Coalition forces.

Technological advantage

Colonel Warden is confident that technological advantage in the form of airpower is the Coalition's best asset.

However, he warns against being "impatient and diving into Baghdad without doing militarily smart things".

Coalition forces have been surprised by Iraqi resistance

Similarly, he suggests that a lengthy siege could harm public support:

"From a public opinion standpoint, there is a limited amount of time that this can go on," says the Colonel.

"A couple, three weeks is fine; but a 900 day siege is not something I think we are prepared to handle particularly well," he says.

Moshe Arens added that "it wouldn't be a smart way to go at it."

Colonel Warden also suggests that it would help the coalition if Iraqis could be persuaded to fight against Saddam Hussein:

"I would like to see the Iraqi military not simply surrendering but join in this battle... if there was a serious Iraqi component to this, and that that component was going to have a role in a post-war world then I believe we would see a significantly different situation".

Weapons of mass destruction

The Coalition has said that Saddam Hussein would be disarmed of any weapons of mass destruction he might have.

A new report suggests that Saddam Hussein may be willing to use chemical weapons against the Coalition forces.

Moshe Arens says: " We know that he has used them in the past... the thing that would keep him from doing so is the response that he thinks he is likely to get."

Tim Sebastian asks Colonel Warden what would happen if no weapons of mass destruction were found:

"Obviously, if we don't find any, that creates a bit of a problem... As long as we are occupying , if there are in fact Weapons of Mass Destruction, I believe that we will find them before there is a new Iraqi regime," he said.

HARDtalk can be watched on BBC World and BBC News 24