Iraq situation more serious than Vietnam, says Patten

THE situation in Iraq is much more serious than the one the Americans found themselves in Vietnam warned EU Commissioner for External Relations, Chris Patten.

The former Tory minister and now chancellor of Oxford University also criticised the Israelis for destroying Palestinian infrastructure including the airport, schools, hospitals, police and radio stations over the years.

He said the EU would need assurances from Israel before they would replace the buildings and infrastructure largely put there by the Europeans in the first place.