"The UN is slowly dying," said Gardiner, adding that it should rid itself of countries that terrorize their own populations. He saw Great Britain and the U.S. taking the lead, with Britain emerging from the decay of the old Europe as the second most powerful nation in the world. Gardiner argued that, with its lengthy occupation of Northern Ireland, "there is a strong case to be made for Britain taking the command of the security element of a post-war force, under the overall command of General Tommy Franks's post-war Iraq security operation."

Phillips predicted that U.S. troops would be in Iraq for anywhere from two to five years.

Additional reporting: Phoebe St John and Joanna Khenkine