Rupert

VINE: Ehud Barak is also here, the former Israeli Prime Minister. What did you think, Mr Barak, watching those pictures again?

EHUD BARAK: It's a clear act of war. I believe that Tony Blair put it correctly. It is a time for action, not for just interviews, and a time for action by the whole world community, co-ordinating a concerted effort in on the level of diplomatic economy, but more than anything else, intelligence and operations to launch a full-scale struggle against world terror. It is all our Western civilisation is now under attack. No way to ignore it, we know the names of these rogue countries, we know the names of the organisations. The intelligence community know to tell us where they are deployed and it is a time for action, even if it is going to be a very tough and painful and maybe struggle that will stretch over a few years.

VINE: Were you surprised it could happen?

BARAK: I was not surprised by the attempt to destroy the twin towers - it already happened. But the combination and simultaneous effect of different places or different kind of aeroplanes were hijacked at the same time in a co-ordinated way is quite surprising.