Sir Mike Jackson, who was head of the British army until he retired last year, last night questioned the wisdom of trying to bring a US style democracy to Iraq.
He told an audience at the Frontline club in London - a private members' club for war reporters - that the idea "that what every country in the world needs is a constitution and that kind of government" could have contributed to Iraq's problems.
Getting rid of Saddam Hussein and bringing in something new was like removing the head from a body and then "trying to replace it with another head, it is very difficult", he said.
However he added that he had been told that there was a "tremendous amount of excitement" in the country in the run up to elections and that he had hope that the factions in the country could eventually find peace.
But he compared the process to Northern Ireland, which he said had taken more than 30 years to reach where it was today, with the pullout of British forces imminent.
