Using emotive terms like "not very positive", the Dalai Lama has roundly savaged the war in Iraq.

Having previously refused to comment on the situation, His Holiness plunged a rhetorical dagger into the heart of the Neo-Conservative war machine, saying:

The Tibetan spiritual leader may have stopped short of branding the war "regrettable", but his fiery words are bound to upset the Bush regime and worry G.O.P. strategists.

With oil prices down, Bush's approval rating on the mend and the Democratic party being increasingly seen as weak on terrorism, Republicans were starting to regain some optimism.

However, given the Dalai Lama's prominence in the hearts and minds of the Conservative base, his comments are bound to be seen as a grievous setback in the lead up to the November midterm elections.

In a move clearly designed to embarrass the American president, the Lama also stepped in to offer his own moral leadership on the situation in the Middle East.

It is not known whether Bush will act on this guidance - hawkish elements of regime may cynically feel that warring Sunni and Shi'ite factions have close enough contact already.

According to a experts at Wikipedia, the Dalai Lama, real name Tenzin Gyatso, is seen by his followers as the 14th incarnation of a Tibetan holy man from donkey's years ago.

Having attacked the American president's execution of the war, he turned his ire towards the Rome. Responding to the Pope's recent insult to the world's Muslim population, the Lama fired this no-holds-barred polemic:

Actually, he might have been attacking Islamic reaction to the Pope's words, or just speaking generally, but the message was clear - "fuck with religion and you're fucking with the Lama".