US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that she was “proud” of the US decision to invade Iraq and said the West Asia had improved since President George W Bush took office.

In an interview with Bloomberg television, Rice also cited progress in North Korea and China as evidence that the Bush administration, which has just seven months left in office, had made strides over the past eight years. “I am proud by the decision of this administration to overthrow Saddam Hussein. I am proud of the liberation of 20 million Iraqis,” Rice said in the interview taped earlier in the week.

“Iraq has been very tough. We can never do anything to soothe the pain of the family and friends that they have left behind, but we are seeing a change in Iraq for the better,” she said.

The interview aired as the United States marked the Independence Day holiday. The US military has lost 4,113 personnel since the March 2003 invasion, according to independent website www.icasualties.org.

“In the post-9/11 environment, you could not let a threat to peace exist. I know that great historical events go through difficult phases and often emerge with the world left for the better.”

Rice said Iran had suffered “setbacks” and Al-Qaeda was “on its heels”, while democracy had made a “breakthrough” with women voting in Kuwait, “democratic forces” emerging in the Palestinian territories and “a democracy at the centre of the Arab world in Iraq.”