US President George W. Bush broadened his case for war on Iraq late Wednesday, saying that toppling Saddam Hussein would spread democracy in the Arab world and speed the creation of a Palestinian state.

"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.

The US leader drew his closest linkage yet between his accelerating campaign to disarm and topple Saddam, and languishing US efforts at breaking the deadly cycle of violence that has bloodied Israel and the Palestinians.

"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 fret a US "imperial" occupation would 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 US thirst for oil drives Washington's Iraq policy, Bush said US 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.

The speech came as Bush led an uphill diplomatic battle to get a new UN resolution paving the way for war against Iraq through a divided UN Security Council.

Veto-holders France, Russia and China are in rough agreement on extending UN inspections in Iraq as an alternative to war, though it was unclear whether they would kill the new measure. Germany and Syria, who do not have veto power, also oppose military action.

"If the council responds to Iraq's defiance with more excuses and delays, if all its authority proves to be empty, the United Nations will be severely weakened as a source of stability and order," Bush said.

"If the members rise to this moment, then the Council will fulfill its founding purpose." In a thinly veiled slap at France and Germany, Bush noted that World War II saw US forces defeat tyranny and help build democratic institutions that flourish today.

"Bringing stability and unity to a free Iraq will not be easy.

Yet that is no excuse to leave the Iraqi regime's torture chambers and poison labs in operation. Any future the Iraqi people choose for themselves will be better than the nightmare world that Saddam Hussein has chosen for them," he said.

In a move that may worry some US allies in the Middle East, Bush said ousting Saddam would embolden fledgling pro-democracy reforms in the Arab world.

"From Morocco to Bahrain and beyond, nations are taking genuine steps toward political reform. A new regime in Iraq would serve as a dramatic and inspiring example of freedom for other nations in the region," he said - Sapa-AFP.