A university lecturer told a meeting he condemned the military strikes on Afghanistan.

Tom Hickey, principal lecturer in philosophy and economics at Brighton University, says the attacks will destabilise Asia and the Middle East.

He believes that even if the West does succeed in removing the Taliban from power, British and US troops would need to stay in the region for at least another decade as a peacekeeping force.

Mr Hickey, who was in the US during the terrorist attacks, spoke at a meeting in Brighton last night of people opposed to the military strikes on Afghanistan.

Another speaker was Keith Taylor of the Green Party. The debate was organised with the university's socialist society and the philosophy department.

Mr Hickey criticised the US and British Government for presenting the attacks as a straightforward war against evil.

He said the rise of Islamic fundamentalism was due to American foreign policy in Arab regions and by actively pursuing its own strategic interests and ensuring the availability of oil for the Western world, America had marginalised the Arab people and encouraged fanaticism.

Mr Hickey said: "Chasing after bin Laden is not going to solve the problems."