SINGAPORE, June 5: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld delivered a strong justification for the "war on terrorism" here on Saturday a day after being told by his host and close ally that the United States was "part of the problem".

Mr Rumsfeld, in Singapore to shore up Asian support for the campaign against terror, warned of the devastating consequences if the United States and its allies should fail in Iraq, or give ground elsewhere around the globe.

"Today, in this new era, our close cooperation with allies and friends in Asia is more essential than ever," Mr Rumsfeld said in the keynote address to the Asia Security Conference, which attracted security officials from 21 nations.

"The phenomenon of ideological expansion - of which terrorism is the weapon of choice - stands in the way of global political progress and economic prosperity, threatens the stability of the international order, and clouds the future of civil society."

Mr Rumsfeld was speaking after Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong opened the conference on Friday night with a wide-ranging speech that included a blunt warning that the US stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was helping to fuel global terrorism.

"This is too important an issue to dress in diplomatic niceties. The US is essential to the solution but it is also part of the problem," Mr Goh said, with Mr Rumsfeld listening in the audience.

"A more balanced and nuanced approach towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - an approach that recognizes that there are equities and inequities on both sides - must become a central pillar of the global war on terrorism.

"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a rallying cause for terrorism. We know that a solution to it will not end terrorism... but the discomfort that mainstream Muslims feel around the world feel with America's Middle East policies limits their ability to fight the ideological battle."

With Singapore counting Indonesia as a neighbour, and having to contain its own terrorist threat in recent years, Mr Goh's views on the factors fuelling militancy are widely respected in Asia.

Mr Rumsfeld did not publicly address in Singapore the issue of whether the United States' strong support of Israel contributes to militancy.

Instead he focused on Iraq and other global security issues.

On Iraq, Mr Rumsfeld said the United States and its allies were engaged in a test of wills with terrorists and warned of dire consequences for the war-torn country if the allies fail.

Mr Rumsfeld also impressed on his audience the need for quick progress in diplomatic efforts to rein in North Korea's nuclear programme.

Mr Rumsfeld, who flew to Bangladesh on Saturday afternoon after two days in Singapore, held bilateral discussions with Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill and South Korean Defence Minister Cho Young-kil while in the city-state.-AFP