Tony Blair is in Israel today after completing a secret - and dangerous - whistle-stop visit to Iraq on Tuesday.

The prime minister flew on a military jet operating under strict radio silence into Baghdad where he was met by Iraq's interim prime minister Iyad Allawi.

He was then helicoptered into the heavily fortified Green Zone and then whisked by the SAS into talks with Iraq's leaders.

At the subsequent press conference Blair said: "I believe we did the right thing.

"Whatever people feel about the original conflict we, the British, are not a nation of quitters. It is very obvious to me that the Iraqi people are not going to quit in the task either. They will see it through."

After the Blair's presence in the city became known, the helicopter pilots changed their route for the trip back to the airport.

Following the press conference he returned swiftly to the airport for a trip to Basra to wish British troops a happy Christmas.

He then flew on to Tel Aviv for talks aimed at kick-starting the stalled peace process.

The prime minister was the first world leader to visit Baghdad since the fall of Saddam.

President Bush only got as far as the airport when he paid a Thanksgiving visit to American troops in Iraq in November last year.

Meanwhile, the Independent reports that a member of the Commons defence committee, who has just returned from Iraq, said: "It will take 10 to 15 years at least [before troops can be fully withdrawn]. It is another Cyprus. The Iraqis just cannot cope with the security situation and won't be able to for years."