John Major "heartbroken" at divisions

"Winning the peace will be harder than winning the war"

In a HARDtalk interview on 17 October, Tim Sebastian speaks to former British Prime Minister John Major about reconstruction efforts in Iraq and whether the war was justified.

John Major, who served as British Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997, says it is too early to judge the success of the outcome of the war in Iraq.

He says it will take several years before that outcome is known, although there was a sense of urgency to bring about changes.

"If we have not got a provisional government changed into a proper elected Iraqi government by the middle of 2004 with the prospect of the British and Americans and others leaving about the end of 2004, then I think we have very real problems and the ramifications of that would be very substantial."

winning the peace

Before the war, Mr Major warned that winning the peace would be more difficult than winning the war.

He told HARDtalk that the US and UK may have found it easier to deal with the aftermath of the war if they had gained more international support at the time of the conflict.

Mr Major says there is a growing rift between the Muslim world and the US and UK and positive action in Iraq is needed to mend it.

He says although Muslim countries were supportive during the war on terror, they were not supportive of regime change in Iraq.

"Now they look at that issue and they will now judge America and Britain by their actions," he told Tim Sebastian.

"And I think several things they will look at, firstly how generous, and by that I mean generous spirited as well as generous with cash, are we in the reconstruction of Iraq."

the path to peace

He says it is also crucial the West helps bring peace to the Middle East.

"What needs to be done (to achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians) is very simple, doing it is more difficult."

And he says both Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon are not helping the situation.

"I very much doubt you could find an Israeli citizen who would trust any deal done by Mr Arafat. I equally doubt you would find any Palestinian citizen who would trust a deal done with Mr Sharon."

Mr Major says he thinks whilst they are in power an agreement would have to be imposed by international powers.

"I think once they have gone there is much more likelihood of a bilateral agreement."

"heartbroken"

Mr Major also spoke about his heartbreak at the state of the Conservative Party.

He says he is "heartbroken" at the state of his party and warned that it will remain in the electoral wilderness unless it stops its internal feuding.

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HARDtalk can be seen on BBC World at 03:30 GMT, 08:30 GMT, 11:30 GMT, 15:30 GMT, 18:30 GMT and 22:30 GMT

It can also be seen on BBC News 24 at 03:30 and 23:30