Bush will preserve oil resources and democratize the Arab world

WASHINGTON, February 27 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – As the U.S. and Britain amassed more troops in the Arab Gulf region, U.S. President George W. Bush late Wednesday, February 26, said that a war on Iraq would “spread democracy” in the Arab world and speed the creation of a Palestinian state, adding that he will “safeguard” Iraq’s oil resources.

"A liberated Iraq can show the power of freedom to transform this vital region by bringing hope and progress into the lives of millions," Bush said in a speech to the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

Bush's statements would set the ground for a stark contrast between Washington's reported plans to occupy Iraq for more than three years after the fall of Saddam's regime and its highly-touted promises of a democratic Iraq.

The U.S earlier refused a civilian Iraqi government to be at the helm after Saddam, and its official said that only changes would be the replacement of President Saddam and his lieutenants with senior U.S. military officer.

The U.S. leader drew his closest linkage yet between his accelerating campaign to attack Iraq, and the Middle East crisis.

"Success in Iraq could also begin a new stage for Middle Eastern peace, and set in motion progress towards a truly democratic Palestinian state," by depriving anti-Israel extremists of a "wealthy patron," Bush said.

"Without this outside support for terrorism, Palestinians who are working for reform and long for democracy will be in a better position to choose new leaders. True leaders who strive for peace; true leaders who faithfully serve the people. A Palestinian state must be a reformed and peaceful state that abandons forever the use of terror," he said.

Bush also refreshed his commitment to a Middle East "roadmap" to peace based on two secure states living side by side, a blueprint he agreed at Israel's request to put on hold until after elections there.

And Bush worked to quiet some critics worried Washington will not do enough to get Iraq back on its feet after any military action, and others who accused a U.S. imperial occupation of destabilize the volatile region.

"Rebuilding Iraq will require a sustained commitment from many nations, including our own: We will remain in Iraq as long as necessary, and not a day more," said Bush.

If it comes to war, he said, Washington and its allies will “care” for refugees expected to number in the millions; secure any weapons of mass destruction; and quell any sectarian violence or score-settling.

While the United States "has no intention of determining the precise form of Iraq's new government," he stressed, "we will ensure that one brutal dictator is not replaced by another."

But the administration's plans for post-war Iraq drew criticism earlier Wednesday from Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman, who said appointing an American civilian administrator for Iraq after a period of military rule would be a mistake.

Lieberman said such a move could put "America in the position of an occupying power, not a liberator," and urged the administration to work with the United Nations to name a non-American civilian administrator.

Taking aim at critics in the Muslim world and elsewhere who have charged that a U.S. thirst for oil drives Washington's Iraq policy, Bush said U.S. forces would “safeguard” such resources from any attempt to make them unusable -- as Iraq did to Kuwaiti wells during the 1991 Gulf War.

"We will seek to protect Iraq's natural resources from sabotage by a dying regime, and ensure those resources are used for the benefit of the owners -- the Iraqi people," he said.