Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger says a military victory is no longer possible in Iraq.

"If you mean by military victory, an Iraqi government that can be established and whose writ runs across the whole country, that gets the civil war under control and sectarian violence under control in a time period that the political processes of the democracies will support, I don't believe that is possible,'' he told the British Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday.

However, Kissinger also said a rapid withdrawal of coalition forces from the strife-torn country could destabilize Iraq's neighbours and cause long-term problems.

"A dramatic collapse of Iraq -- whatever we think about how the situation was created -- would have disastrous consequences for which we would pay for many years and which would bring us back, one way or another, into the region,'' he said.

Kissinger was secretary of state for President Richard Nixon, and helped develop the "peace with honour" strategy for withdrawing from South Vietnam. U.S. combat troops left that country in 1973; in 1975, communist North Vietnam took control of South Vietnam.

U.S. President George W. Bush toured Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, on Monday.

Kissinger said that an international conference should be held on Iraq involving the permanent members of the UN Security Council, Iraq's neighbors and other regional powers like Pakistan and India.

"I think we have to redefine the course, but I don't think that the alternative is between military victory, as defined previously, or total withdrawal,'' he said.

In a groundbreaking diplomatic visit to Iraq, Syria's foreign minister called for a timetable to be established for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Walid Moallem, the highest-ranking Syrian to visit since Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003, said the withdrawal would help end sectarian violence in Iraq.

Kissinger recommended the U.S. engage with Syria and Iran, which is believed to be assisting Shiite militias in Iraq.

A blue-ribbon panel on Iraq, led by James Baker -- secretary of state under Pres. George H.W. Bush -- and former Rep. Lee Hamilton will soon be releasing recommendations on how to end the conflict in Iraq.

In other news:

• A suicide bomber killed 22 people and wounded 44 in Iraq after he enticed them to his vehicle with the promise of work. The attack happened in Hillah, a mainly Shiite city about 100 kilometres south of Baghdad, police said.
• Elsewhere in Iraq, militant attacks left 112 people dead.
• The U.S. announced that joint operations with the Iraqi army in an area between Tikrit and Kirkuk killed 50 Sunni insurgents and led to the capture of 20 more. Some large arms caches were also discovered.

With files from The Associated Press