Donald Rumsfeld conceded that trying to replace the tyranny of Saddam Hussein with democratic structures was unrealistic

George W Bush was wrong to push democracy on Iraq, one of the chief architects of the 2003 war has admitted as he warned that the West is woefully ill equipped to cope with rampant Islamist extremism.

Donald Rumsfeld, the former US defence secretary, conceded that trying to replace the tyranny of Saddam Hussein with democratic structures was unrealistic. In an interview with The Times he said: “I’m not one who thinks that our particular template of democracy is appropriate for other countries at every moment of their histories. The idea that we could fashion a democracy in Iraq seemed to me unrealistic. I was concerned about it when I first heard those words.”

His remarks amount to a clear and very rare breach between