Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    PRAGUE, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The war in Iraq will gain an even worse place in history than the last century's war conflict in Vietnam, Madeleine Albright, Czech-born former U.S. secretary state, said in an interview with the Czech daily Hospodarske noviny on Friday.

    This is the biggest decline of U.S. foreign policy, Albright said, referring to the Iraqi war.

    She said that the war has set forces in motion in the Middle East that will be difficult to calm down.

    She compared diplomacy and international affairs to a billiards game with a number of balls reacting to each other.

    What is happening in Iraq now has an influence on the developments in other countries, Albright said, adding that Iran's power is growing, as is the tension between the Kurds and Turks.