US denies defense crisis with Russia

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's administration denied a row over the US anti-missile shield was slowing a landmark nuclear treaty with Moscow, after days of sharp Russian criticism of NATO.

Obama also pointedly contrasted Russia's "forward leaning" approach to confronting Iran's nuclear drive with China's more ambivalent stance, as Washington sought "significant" new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

A year after taking office, Obama is hoping that a replacement for the expired Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and Moscow's cooperation on Iran will validate his decision to "reset" US relations with Russia.

But on Tuesday, General Nikolai Makarov, chief of staff of the Russian armed forces, raised eyebrows in Washington by saying the START talks, which have dragged past several deadlines, were stuck on the anti-missile issue.

Moscow has reportedly insisted that any new pact regulates both strategic offensive missiles and the anti-missile systems designed to thwart them, a linkage that the United States has never favored.

"The development and deployment of missile defenses is aimed against the Russian Federation," Makarov was quoted as saying by domestic news agencies.

"The development of these missile defense systems without question weakens our potential nuclear deterrent."

Both the State Department and the White House attempted to downplay the notions of new divides between the two former Cold War foes, and suggested that Obama was on the same page as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

"The emerging missile defense architecture in Europe is not aimed at Russia, but rather the emerging threat from Iran," said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley.

"We continue to discuss ways in which we can cooperate with Russia on missile defense."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denied that the reconfigured US missile shield in Europe was in any way aimed at Russia, and said it was not complicating the final drive towards a START treaty.

"When President Obama talked to President Medvedev a couple of weeks ago, President Medvedev didn't bring this up as an obstacle," Gibbs said.

"I think the notion that somehow this is in any way an impediment to what's going on with START is simply not true. It certainly wasn't what President Medvedev told President Obama."

In September, Obama shelved plans -- fiercely opposed by Moscow -- to site elements of a US missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, a plan pursued by his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Moscow initially welcomed Obama's decision but bristled after Romania said it, like fellow former eastern bloc states Poland and the Czech Republic, had agreed to host medium-range ballistic missile interceptors for the shield.

The new exchanges over missile defense followed several sharp critiques from Moscow about NATO in recent days.

Medvedev sparked surprise in the western alliance last week by signing a document listing among "chief outside military threats" the fact that NATO is attempting to "globalize its functions in contravention of international law."

The document also cited attempts to bring the "military infrastructure of NATO members closer to Russian borders, including by expanding the bloc."

On Tuesday, Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian national security council warned that the NATO alliance represented a "threat and a fairly serious one" to Russia.

Seeking to praise Russia, Obama told reporters on Tuesday that although he was unsure how China would respond to a UN Security Council effort to frame tough sanction on Iran, he was happy with Moscow.

"One thing I'm pleased about is to see how forward-leaning the Russians have been on this issue," Obama said.

Andrew Kuchins, director of the Russia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the imminence of the START agreement, expected within months, was driving domestic suspicion of the United States in Moscow.

"There is a lot of opposition within the Russian government toward making a decision for a more positive, constructive security relationship with NATO and the United States," he said.

"There is a fundamental ambivalence towards NATO and the West, and the (signing) of the treaty is one of those watershed moments that (bring) those differences to the surface."

N.Korea's Kim restates nuclear disarmament pledge

SEOUL — Kim Jong-Il restated North Korea's goal of ridding the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons and reportedly sent his top nuclear envoy to Beijing, amid a diplomatic drive to revive disarmament talks.

The North's leader made his remarks Monday to senior Chinese official Wang Jiarui, who was visiting Pyongyang to try to coax the North back to the six-nation talks which it angrily abandoned last April.

Kim "reiterated on Monday the country's persistent stance to realise the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula" during his meeting with Wang, according to China's official Xinhua new agency.

"The sincerity of relevant parties to resume the six-party talks is very important," it quoted Kim as saying.

The report did not indicate whether the North is about to end its boycott of the forum.

Its top nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-Gwan flew to Beijing Tuesday along with Wang, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported from the Chinese capital.

Analysts said the North, hit by tougher United Nations sanctions for its 2009 missile launches and nuclear test, may be seeking a way to return to the talks which group the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the United States.

Wang gave Kim a message from Chinese President Hu Jintao, who renewed an invitation to visit Beijing, Xinhua reported.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon's top political adviser Lynn Pascoe was due in Pyongyang Tuesday in another apparent attempt to press the North to restart the nuclear disarmament dialogue.

As conditions for a return, the North wants Washington to agree to hold formal peace talks and seeks a lifting of the UN sanctions.

In an apparent conciliatory gesture, Pyongyang on Saturday freed a US missionary who had crossed the border on a lone campaign to publicise rights abuses.

But the North Monday accused South Korea of plotting to topple Kim's regime and warned that it has a "secret strike force" to protect the country.

"We have world-level ultra-modern striking force and means for protecting security which have neither yet been mentioned nor opened to the public in total," a statement from two security ministries said without elaborating.

It criticised efforts by the South's military to defend the disputed Yellow Sea border -- where the North fired artillery salvoes late last month -- and complained about the growing scattering of anti-Kim propaganda leaflets by balloon.

By depicting external threats Kim's regime is trying to tighten its grip over society following a failed currency revaluation last November 30, said Kim Yong-Hyun, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University.

"Its economy has not been in good shape since the currency revaluation and it also needs to break the deadlock in six-party talks," Kim told AFP. Otherwise, its rulers knew the country could become unstable.

Monday's statement also aims to press Seoul's conservative government to soften its policy, he said. The South has linked major aid to progress on nuclear disarmament.

Haitian aid effort rushes out tents, anger builds

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Aid workers in Haiti have rushed to provide tents to earthquake survivors with the coming rainy season threatening further misery, and anger builds among the desperate population over the stumbling relief effort.

While officials said food distribution had finally moved into high gear, more Haitians protested Sunday, saying the government had done nothing for them as the one-month anniversary of the January 12 devastating earthquake approached.

Meanwhile, the case of 10 Americans charged with kidnapping children in the wake of the disaster here took another turn, with their Haitian lawyer saying he had quit after being accused of seeking to bribe the judge. Related article: We gave them away say parents of 'kidnaped' Haitian kids

Haitians have warned that temporary housing for tens of thousands of homeless is vital ahead of the rainy season that arrives in the coming weeks, since huge numbers of people are sleeping on the ground.

Some one million people are estimated to have been left homeless overall by the quake.

French aid group Doctors Without Borders handed out 1,800 tents over the weekend, a spokeswoman said.

"If more people need it here, we'll provide it," Caroline Livio said at a clinic operated by the organization. "We have more tents now."

The United Nations announced last week that more than 10,000 family-sized tents had been distributed with some 16,000 in stock.

On Friday, the UN estimated that 460,000 people remained in makeshift camps throughout Port-au-Prince. Related article: Aceh reconstruction offers hope for Haiti

The UN has warned that sanitation is becoming a serious problem in such camps and that an increasing number of children are falling ill.

Desperate Haitians have protested in parts of Port-au-Prince in recent days, including Friday during ex-US president Bill Clinton's visit, when hundreds gathered outside the complex where he met President Rene Preval.

On Sunday, about 100 people who said they were living in a camp marched in the Petionville suburb of the capital.

"People aren't getting anything from the food distribution," said Louis Willy, a 35-year-old father of two.

Preval, under increasing pressure over the government's response to the disaster, on Saturday urged Haitians to remain calm.

The US military, meanwhile, vowed to help Haiti for as long as was necessary and seven of the world's leading industrialized countries -- the G7 -- have said they will cancel their nation's bilateral debt with Haiti.

In an interview with AFP on Sunday, a 24-year-old woman who waited a day to be rescued after her house collapsed in the quake spoke of the trauma. She has since had an arm and a leg amputated. Related article: In Haiti, amputee dreams of becoming a nurse

"I felt like it was a dream -- well, a nightmare, as if I were sleeping," said Darling Exinor. "I called my cousins so that they could help me and I prayed to God for him to help me."

The case of the 10 Americans charged last week with kidnapping and conspiracy has distracted from the relief effort.

On Sunday, their lawyer said he had quit the case after being accused of trying to bribe the judge.

Edwin Coq strongly denied the accusation and said there had been a "misunderstanding."

"The parents of these Americans have ended their association with me over the payment of my fees," he told AFP.

Coq said, "we had agreed that I would be paid 60,000 dollars (44,000 euros) and part of it would be sent to me as a deposit on the account."

The American Baptists were arrested near the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic travelling with 33 children.

They have claimed they meant no harm and had taken only children they thought were orphans, but some of the children's parents have told AFP they had reached a deal to give away their kids. Related article: Missionary case distracts from Haiti's desperation

Further hearings were scheduled in the case for Monday.

Separately, Dominican Republic soldiers detained a Venezuelan after he illegally brought six Haitians, four children and two adults, into the country.

It was not clear where he was taking the Haitians and why he was transporting them.

Toyota to announce Prius recall this week: report

TOKYO — Toyota, reeling from safety woes that have sullied its reputation around the globe, will this week announce the recall of 300,000 Prius hybrid vehicles because of brake flaws, reports said Sunday.

The move by the Japanese auto giant will affect the latest model of the Prius, a car beloved of Hollywood stars and environmentalists, following scores of complaints about brake malfunctions.

The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said the recall, which would repair a software programme for the anti-lock braking system designed to prevent skidding, is expected to affect some 270,000 vehicles in Japan and the United States alone.

"The company has notified its dealers in Japan that it would recall all the (new model Prius) vehicles sold in the country," the mass-circulation paper said, without giving a source.

"The company will also repair the software free of charge in the United States and other countries in a similar manner," Yomiuri said, adding that the company would make an official announcement this week.

The Nikkei business daily said Toyota would also repair about 30,000 vehicles sold in Europe, China, Australia, Middle East and other areas.

Toyota, which has had to recall around eight million cars around the world because of sticky accelerator pedals, has sold more than 300,000 of the latest Prius in 60 countries and territories since the new model rolled out in May.

Representatives of Toyota, the world's largest automaker, were not immediately available to confirm the reports.

Toyota has come under fresh fire after it said it had fixed the Prius brake system in January without warning drivers who already own the model about the possibility of brake failure. Related article: Prius woes may muffle hybrid buzz

Japan's transport ministry has reportedly received about 80 complaints this month about malfunctions in the brake system and called for an investigation, while Toyota has separately received more than 100 complaints since the crisis broke.

Local media have said that five cases reported to the government relate to crashes in which the brakes malfunctioned, according to the drivers.

The Prius -- which combines a petrol combustion engine with a battery-powered electric motor -- is Toyota's flagship hybrid car and key to its efforts to stay in pole position in fuel-efficient vehicles.

Toyota, which dethroned General Motors in 2008 as the world's biggest automaker, produced 530,000 hybrids in 2009, spanning 15 models from sport utility vehicles to sedans, mini-vans and the luxury Lexus series. Related article: Toyota woes a boon for rivals

The Prius braking problems have come on top of trouble with unintended acceleration with Toyota cars.

The company has come under heavy fire for its handling of massive recalls affecting about eight million vehicles worldwide -- more than its entire 2009 global sales of 7.8 million vehicles -- due to accelerator trouble.

The accelerator problems have been blamed for several accidents, including an incident in California in August in which four family members were killed when their Lexus sedan sped up on a highway and crashed in a ball of flames.

A US class-action lawsuit filed in Colorado against Toyota has alleged the Japanese automaker hid problems that have led to the rash of recalls and seeking compensation for all residents who own affected cars.

Company president Akio Toyoda said Friday he was "deeply sorry" for the string of quality issues and said he would head a new task force to raise standards and investigate the cause of the problems.

"Believe me, Toyota cars are safe," he said.

But major Japanese newspapers have lashed out at Toyota's slow response to the safety fiasco and warned it could hurt the country's hard-won reputation for trustworthy technology.

"Words alone cannot settle the situation. Toyota represents Japan and its shaking could lead to a loss of trust for the entire Japan brand," the Nikkei business daily said in an editorial on Saturday.

"Failure to deal properly with the current fiasco could deal a blow to the international trust in Japan's manufacturing technology," added the Yomiuri.

Toyota, which is staring at a two-billion-dollar bill from the global recall, is facing "a moment of crisis," admitted Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder.

Despite the huge recalls, however, the Japanese giant reported last week it was on course to earn 80 billion yen (880 million dollars) this fiscal year to March.

Bomb kills US soldier in Afghanistan: NATO

KABUL — A Taliban-style bomb attack killed a US soldier on Friday in western Afghanistan, NATO said.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the death was caused by an IED, or improvised explosive device -- the crude bombs increasingly deployed by the Taliban in their insurgency.

"An ISAF service member from the United States was killed in an IED strike in western Afghanistan today," said the statement.

The death brings to 57 the number of foreign soldiers to die in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year, according to an AFP count based on a running tally kept by the independent icasualties.org website.

The vast majority of those deaths have been caused by IEDs, which have become the Taliban's main weapon against international and Afghan troops fighting their insurgency to topple the Western-backed Afghan government.

More than 100,000 foreign troops are leading the battle under US and NATO command, with another 40,000 arriving up to August as part of a surge that aims to flush the insurgents from populated areas and pave the way for development.

IEDs, cheap and easy to make with fertiliser and simple switches, are often buried by roadsides and detonated from up to two kilometres (one mile) away.

Their frequency and accuracy is impacting morale among foreign and Afghan troops, with military intelligence saying that IEDs are now responsible for up to 90 percent of international casualties.

Taiwan air force to get 3 helicopters from Europe

TAIPEI — Taiwan said Friday its air force would get three rescue helicopters from Airbus sister company Eurocopter, in a development observers warned could worsen Chinese anger over military sales to the island.

The EC225 long-range transport helicopters, with a total price tag of 110 million dollars, are scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan at the end of 2011 to join the air force's rescue team, said Yin Shih-hsien, an air force official.

"The newly acquired all-weather helicopters ... can greatly improve the ability of the air force to execute rescue missions at sea, on land and in the mountains, day and night," the air force said in a statement.

The announcement comes amid an ongoing row between China and the United States over a US decision to deliver a 6.4-billion-dollar arms package to the island, which Beijing claims as its territory.

Taiwan has so far largely escaped becoming entangled in this row, as Beijing is eager to maintain friendly ties with the island's China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou, but analysts now questioned if it could last.

"The helicopter sale could chill Taiwan-China ties as Beijing might suspect Ma of taking a tougher stance in his policy towards the mainland," said Hsu Yung-ming, a political scientist at Taipei's Soochow University.

Beijing has threatened to use force if Taiwan, which has ruled itself since 1949, declares formal independence, but ties have improved since Ma became president of Taiwan in 2008.

Eurocopter is a wholly owned subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), the parent company of Airbus and one of the three largest aerospace groups in the world.

Washington is the leading arms supplier to self-ruled Taiwan, even though it switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, while Europe has played a much more low-profile role.

The helicopter deal marks only the third time Taiwan has acquired military equipment from Europe.

Taiwan in 1991 bought six Lafayette-class frigates from France for 2.8 billion dollars and acquired 60 Mirage-2000 fighter jets in 1992 for 3.8 billion dollars in deals that strained French-Sino ties at the time.

China reacted angrily then by closing the French consulate in the south Chinese city of Guangzhou and barring French companies from participating in a subway project in the same city.

However, observers doubted the Chinese response would be anywhere near that vehement over the sale of the rescue helicopters.

"The helicopter deal could further anger China because of the more sensitive timing after the US arms sales to Taiwan," said Kenneth Kaocheng Wang, a military expert at Tamkang University in Taipei.

"But China is unlikely to retaliate against Europe because the choppers are for rescue missions and the number is small," he said.

Obese people struggle with their genes

PARIS — Debate over the obesity epidemic sweeping parts of the world has focussed on whether lifestyle -- too much junk food and couch-potato living -- is the big culprit or whether genes are also to blame.

A new study may help tip the balance in favour of those who claim that fat runs in their family and there is little they can do about it.

People who are morbidly obese lack a tiny stretch of DNA containing around 30 genes, according to the investigation released on Wednesday by the British journal Nature.

Obesity means having a body mass index of 30 or more, while morbid obesity is classified as having a BMI of at least 40. BMI is determined by one's weight in kilos divided by one's height, in metres, squared.

The probe by a consortium of European scientists found that 0.7 percent, or seven in every thousand, of morbidly obese people have a "micro-deletion" of genetic code, located on Chromosome 16.

The telltale sign was initially found among 31 individuals and confirmed among 19 other cases in a trawl through the genomes of 16,053 other people who were either obese or of normal weight.

Those with the deletion tended to be of normal weight as toddlers, became overweight in childhood and then became severely obese in adulthood.

The researchers also took a look at parental DNA where samples were available.

Eleven people inherited the deletion from their mother and four from their father, while 10 deletions apparently occurred by chance, they found. All parents with the deletion were also obese.

What the missing genes do is unclear. Previous research has suggested some of them may be associated with autism, schizophrenia and delayed development.

The study is the first to confirm that severe obesity in otherwise physically health individuals can be caused by a rare genetic variation involving deletion of DNA, say the authors.

Until now, genes linked to weight gain have had a relatively modest effect on fat accumulation, of just a kilo (two pounds) or less.

Other genetic gaps or variations involved in chronic obesity may yet be uncovered, lead author Philippe Froguel, a professor at Imperial College London, said in a press release.

"Although the recent rise in obesity in the developed world is down to an unhealthy environment, with an abundance of unhealthy food and many people taking very little exercise, the difference in the way people respond to this environment is often genetic," he said.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that for some morbidly obese people, their weight gain has an underlying cause.

"If we can identify these individuals through genetic testing, we can then offer them appropriate support and medical interventions, such as the option of weight-loss surgery, to improve their long-term health."

Low serotonin linked to infants' sudden cot death: study

WASHINGTON — After struggling for years to explain why some apparently healthy babies die suddenly in their sleep, a study published Tuesday singles out serotonin deficiency as a key culprit in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or cot death.

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston found that infants who died of cot death, which is the leading cause of death in babies under the age of one in the United States, had significantly lower levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin and the enzyme that helps make it in their brainstems.

SIDS babies also had fewer serotonin receptors in the brainstem, another indication that there was a problem with the babies' systems, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Brainstem serotonin controls involuntary functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and breathing.

The researchers who conducted the study believe that SIDS claims babies' lives because the serotonin-deficient brainstem, which works with no back-up during sleep, fails to spring into action to alert the infant when it is faced with a life-threatening challenge while asleep.

"When the baby is awake, the brainstem works together with other systems -- in the forebrain, the cortex -- to control functions like heart rate and breathing," David Paterson, one of the lead authors of the study, told AFP.

"However, when the baby is asleep, the higher functions in the brain switch off, so the brainstem system itself is solely responsible for controlling all these functions," he said.

If the infant has a serotonin deficiency, and if there are other SIDS risk-factors such as the baby sleeping on its stomach and rebreathing its own breath, which contains more carbon dioxide, the serotonin system in the brainstem could fail to detect a problem and 'tell' the baby to take action, Paterson explained.

"If the serotonin brainstem system is not working properly, the baby might not respond to this challenge and die," Paterson said.

The findings of the small study, which looked at tissue from 35 babies who died of SIDS, five who died suddenly of other causes and five who were hospitalized with chronic oxygenation problems, marked a step forward in the fight to end cot death, which has stumped doctors for decades.

Earlier studies which found that the risk of cot death increased when a baby is laid on its stomach to sleep had sparked campaigns around the world to get parents to lay their little ones in their cribs for the night on their backs or sides.

The campaigns initially met with success, but then the overall SIDS rate leveled off and has stayed steady for years.

Following this latest study, the researchers say the next step would be to devise a test to identify infants with a serotonin brainstem defect and develop treatments to correct serotonin deficiency.

But they stressed that while the study provides strong evidence for a biological cause of SIDS, it also shows that other factors, such as stomach-sleeping, can aggravate the risk of cot death.

Of the 35 SIDS infants in the study, 95 percent died with at least one risk factor and 88 percent died with at least two.

Until scientists have come up with a test and remedy for serotonin brainstem deficiency, parents can do their part to reduce the danger of their baby dying suddenly in its sleep by removing SIDS risk factors from the infants' environment, said neuropathologist Hannah Kinney, who led the study.

"During pregnancy, there is no safe level of alcohol a mother can drink and no safe level of smoking, either firsthand and secondhand.

"Until 12 months of age, babies should sleep on their backs in a crib with a firm mattress, and without toys, soft pillows, excessive blanketing or excessive clothing," she said.

Stars gather to cover 'We Are the World' for Haiti

LOS ANGELES – More than 75 mega-stars gathered Monday to re-record the 1985 charity anthem "We are the World" in the same Hollywood recording studio where the original was cut 25 years ago.

Pink, Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, the Jonas Brothers, Kanye West, Tony Bennett, Jennifer Hudson, Akon and other musical luminaries stood shoulder to shoulder on risers at Henson Recording studios, singing their hearts out and hoping to help Haiti.

Quincy Jones, who produced the 1985 anthem, announced last week that he planned to redo the song to benefit recovery from the deadly Jan. 12 earthquake in Port-au-Prince.

Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, the original "We Are the World" thundered up the charts when it was released on the radio and in record stores in March 1985.

An unprecedented number of top pop musicians gathered at A&M the night of Jan. 28, 1985, following the American Music Awards, to record the tune. The song featured 45 American superstars, including Jackson, Richie, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan and Cyndi Lauper.

The record raised more than $30 million for USA for Africa, a nonprofit organization founded by the singers to fund hunger relief in African nations.

True to her diva reputation, Barbra Streisand recorded her solo over and over, completely absorbed in the recording process and stopping only to correct her pitch.

While reporters watched a video feed of the session in a nearby room, stars like West mingled outside with friends, greeting his buddy, Snoop Dogg, with a hug.

Julianne Hough from "Dancing with the Stars," who is also a country singer, was only 3 years old when the original tune came out. She said she felt honored to lend her voice to the effort and sing next to so many talented musicians.

"It's just iconic. Celine (Dion) is just so gracious and amazing and such a pro," she said.

The session was all the talk at Sunday night's Grammy festivities. Music producer RedOne said being asked to participate was "the biggest honor a musician can ever do."

"Having Quincy, our father of music ... and Lionel Richie asking me to contribute and help, I said of course, because this is not about me," he said. "It's about Haiti."

Blair Iraq evidence leaves PM facing grilling

LONDON — Tony Blair's evidence to the Iraq war inquiry, notable for a lack of any apology, sets up an awkward appearance within weeks for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, ahead of a likely May election.

Blair's unrepentant testimony sparked fury among military families and criticism from the press, reviving memories of what many commentators see as Labour's biggest blunder since taking power in 1997.

The former PM told the Chilcot inquiry that he accepted "responsibility but not regret for removing Saddam" -- prompting shouts of "liar" and "you're a murderer" from the public gallery.

Brown has talked little about his role in Blair's decision to take Britain to war in 2003 alongside the United States and he oversaw the end of the country's military mission in Iraq last year.

But Blair's former communications chief Alastair Campbell told the inquiry this month that Brown -- chancellor of the exchequer for a decade before taking over from Blair in 2007 -- was one of the "key ministers" his boss consulted at the time.

This could raise tricky questions about Brown's judgement and whether he tried to talk Blair out of launching into a war in which 179 British soldiers died, shortly before an election which opinion polls predict he will lose.

"It would have taken resignation by just a handful of ministers and officials to prevent this war," Polly Toynbee, a leading commentator on Labour, wrote in the Guardian Saturday.

"Whatever Chilcot opines, long after the election is over, this extraordinary public inquisition of the recent prime minister (Blair) has been a raw reminder of the defining error of Labour's foreign policy."

Brown is likely to be questioned by the inquiry in late February or early March.

At least two government ministers have hinted the election could be held on May 6 and although informal campaigning is already well under way, the formal race would probably start in early April.

Although the election seems likely to be dominated by the economy, Iraq could still play a role for some voters, according to experts.

"It's not going to be a decisive issue but there's no doubt at all that it's now a background hum in the build-up to the election and will reinforce certain impressions," political commentator Steve Richards told BBC television Friday.

"If people think this government is full of liars, that will be reinforced."

Some key members of Blair's administration at the time of the invasion remain in power. As well as Brown, there is Jack Straw, foreign secretary in 2003 and now justice secretary.

In addition, some media reports suggest Blair could return to help Labour's general election campaign, a move likely to prove highly controversial, not least with many military families.

Whether or not Brown is beaten by David Cameron and the Conservatives in the general election, Blair's evidence may have implications for Britain way beyond the poll.

Despite his warning that the West must be prepared to take a "very hard, tough line" with Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, it could now be much harder for Britain to commit its troops to foreign deployments.

"If Tony Blair is right and Iran does kick off and there's some kind of international force to be sent there, David Cameron as prime minister is really going to have to think hard... given what happened in Iraq," Fraser Nelson, editor of current affairs magazine the Spectator, told the BBC Friday.

"I think this will tie the hands of prime ministers for years to come."