Kissinger says US victory in Iraq is impossible

LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger said today it was impossible for the United States to achieve military victory in Iraq.

''If you mean by clear 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 ... I don't believe that is possible,'' he said.

''An international conference should be called that involves neighbours (of Iraq), perhaps the permanent members of the Security Council and countries that have a major interest in the outcome, like India and Pakistan,'' he told BBC television.

Kissinger was President Richard Nixon's national security adviser and then secretary of state during the Vietnam War. US President George W Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are said to often consult him as an adviser.

Bush has called for ''fresh perspectives'' on U.S policy in Iraq amid unrelenting violence there.

REUTERS SP KP2327