WASHINGTON, April 10 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke Thursday, April 10, directly to the Iraqi people on television to reassure them that Iraq would be theirs, but Iraqis failed to receive the recorded messages because they have no electricity at the first place.

A day after U.S. Marines toppled a towering bronze statue of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the heart of Baghdad, Bush and Blair promised that his regime will never rise again, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

"The nightmare that Saddam Hussein has brought to your nation will soon be over…We will not stop until Saddam's corrupt gang is gone," said Bush.

"The government of Iraq, and the future of your country, will soon belong to you," he told Iraqis, who were not listening because his forces deprived them of electricity.

In a bid to defuse widespread concerns in the Arab world and elsewhere, the two war allies said they had no designs on Iraq's oil wealth and that their 300,000 troops were liberating Iraq, not occupying it.

"Our military forces will leave. Iraq will go forward as a unified, independent and sovereign nation that has regained a respected place in the world," Bush said.

"The money from Iraqi oil will be yours; to be used to build prosperity for you and your families," said Blair, who vowed to move "as soon as possible to an interim authority run by Iraqis."

The U.K. premier promised the Iraqis that their country would be theirs, claiming that the U.S. and U.K. "did not want this war. But in refusing to give up his weapons of mass destruction, Saddam gave us no choice but to act."

"This Iraq will not be run by Britain, or by the United States, or by the United Nations. It will be run by you, the people of Iraq," Blair said.

Bush further said goals of the Anglo-American forces in Iraq are "clear and limited," adding that he would do everything in his power to meet the urgent demand for humanitarian aid in the war-torn country and enforce law and order amid widespread looting.

"We are taking unprecedented measures to spare the lives of innocent Iraqi citizens, and are beginning to deliver food, water and medicine to those in need," said Bush.

"Our only enemy is Saddam's brutal regime - and that regime is your enemy as well," he told Iraqis.

Bush further promised to respect the religious traditions of the Iraqi people "whose principles of equality and compassion are essential to Iraq's future."

"We will respect your great religious traditions. We will help you build a peaceful and representative government that protects the rights of all citizens.

"You deserve better than tyranny, corruption and torture chambers. You deserve to live as free people. And I assure every citizen of Iraq: your nation will soon be free," Bush concluded.