Ex-Army chief backs Iraq militants

General Sir Michael Rose - who led forces in Bosnia - also said it is vital Britain and America "admit defeat" and withdraw to protect soldiers' lives.

Sir Michael has written a book comparing the insurgents' tactics with those of George Washington's forces in the American War of Independence.

Asked if he thought the insurgents were "right" to try to get the American forces out of Iraq, he said: "Yes I do.

"As Lord Chatham said, when he was speaking on the British presence in North America, he said 'if I was an American, as I am an Englishman, as long as one Englishman remained on American native soil, I would never, never, never lay down my arms'.

"The Iraqi insurgents feel exactly the same way. I don't excuse them for some of the terrible things they do, but I do understand why they are resisting the Americans."

He added: "It is the soldiers who have been telling me from the front line that the war they have been fighting is a hopeless war, that they cannot possibly win it and the sooner we start talking politics and not military solutions, the sooner they will come home and their lives will be preserved."

Asked if that meant admitting defeat, he said: "Of course we have to admit defeat.

"The British admitted defeat in North America and the catastrophes that were predicted at the time never happened. The catastrophes that were predicted after Vietnam never happened.

"The same thing will occur after we leave Iraq."