Iraq 'not a disaster', says Howard

The situation in Iraq is tougher than expected but is not a disaster, Prime Minister John Howard says.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair called the situation a disaster in an interview with Sir David Frost on al-Jazeera's new English-language channel.

"No, I don't accept that," Howard said. "It's been tougher than I expected."

The Australian Prime Minister said it could not be labelled a disaster when Iraqis had headed to three democratic polls and had put former despot Saddam Hussein on trial.