Terrorism is defined as undiscriminating attacks on civilians designed to break up the social fabric

Henry Kissinger

Only the complete destruction of the Taleban regime and Bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network could safeguard world security, Dr Kissinger said, adding there could not be "an ambiguous outcome to the war in Afghanistan".

He conceded that terrorism had up to now been ill-defined, and offered his own definition.

"It is quite possible to define terrorism and wars of national liberation. Terrorism is defined as undiscriminating attacks on civilians designed to break up the social fabric," he said.

"I think from that one can make a very good approximation of what is a terrorist act and a military act."

Dr Kissinger praised UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for his unwavering support for the US, adding that he expected it to continue if Iraq was targeted next.

"I know of no other leaders that have so identified the experiences of New York and Washington with the attitudes of their own people as those of the British Government," he said.

Dr Kissinger added that the American people's response to the events of 11 September had been astonishing.

"They still do not understand why exactly we were attacked and what precisely it is that we are supposed to do, and this is what has generated this extraordinary sense of unity that I have never seen in America, not even after Pearl Harbor," he said.

Writs

Dr Kissinger, who was the US secretary of state between 1973 and 1977, brokered negotiations between Arabs, Israelis, China and the Soviet Union, which led to the coining of the phrase "shuttle diplomacy".

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.

Dr Kissinger spoke to an audience of more than 300 people at London's Centre for Policy Studies, while a group of demonstrators called for his indictment for war crimes outside the building.

Writs have been issued in France, Argentina and Chile to question him about Operation Condor in which the US Central Intelligence Agency targeted left-leaning national leaders in South America during the 1970s.

Dr Kissinger refused to answer journalists' questions about the writs.