February 28, 2003	Friday	Zul Hijjah 26, 1423

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WASHINGTON, Feb 27: In his much-awaited policy speech on Iraq, President George W. Bush said on Wednesday that removing President Saddam Hussein would greatly enhance the prospect of peace between Israel and the Arabs.

Addressing a gathering at the American Enterprize Institute, a right-wing Washington think tank, Mr Bush indicated that the Iraqi leader’s removal would also allow the Palestinians to choose a new leader.

The US forces, he said, would remain in Iraq not only to guarantee a democratic government in Baghdad but also to bolster democratic reforms in other Middle Eastern states.

Mr Bush’s announcement about America’s long-term goals in the region came days after the Pentagon revealed plans for deploying more than 200,000 US troops in Iraq for an indefinite period.

Spelling out his vision for a new Middle East, the US president said: “The Arab states will be expected to meet their responsibilities to oppose terrorism, to support the emergence of a peaceful and democratic Palestine, and state clearly they will live in peace with Israel.”

Though he never mentioned Yasser Arafat by name, he strongly implied victory over Iraq could lead to the Palestinian leader’s removal. “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.”

“A Palestinian state must be a reformed and peaceful state that abandons forever the use of terror,” he said.

“For its part,” Mr Bush said, “the new government of Israel — as the terror threat is removed and security improves — will be expected to support the creation of a viable Palestinian state — and to work as quickly as possible toward a final status agreement.” In addition, he said, “settlement activity in the occupied territories must end.”

Defending his goal to bring democracy to the Islamic world, Mr Bush said it was presumptuous and insulting to suggest that a whole region of the world or the one-fifth of humanity that is Muslim was somehow untouched by the most basic aspirations of life. “Human cultures can be vastly different, yet the human heart desires the same good things everywhere on earth.”

Referring to US plans for a post-war Iraq, Mr Bush said: “If we must use force, the United States and our coalition stand ready to help the citizens of a liberated Iraq. We will deliver medicine to the sick, and we are now moving into place nearly three million emergency rations to feed the hungry.” US occupying forces will “lead in carrying out the urgent and dangerous work of destroying chemical and biological weapons” and provide security “against those who try to spread chaos, or settle scores, or threaten the territorial integrity of Iraq.”

He said the US “will seek to protect Iraq’s natural resources from sabotage by a dying regime” and protect it from foreign manipulations.

The US “has no intention of determining the precise form of Iraq’s new government. That choice belongs to the Iraqi people. Yet, we will ensure that one brutal dictator is not replaced by another. All Iraqis must have a voice in the new government, and all citizens must have their rights protected.”

At several junctures, Mr Bush reiterated his plan to overthrow President Saddam Hussein and never mentioned the worldwide opposition he has faced for his war. “The danger posed by Saddam Hussein and his weapons cannot be ignored or wished away,” the US president said. “The danger must be confronted. We hope that the Iraqi regime will meet the demands of the United Nations and disarm, fully and peacefully. If it does not, we are prepared to disarm Iraq by force. Either way, this danger will be removed.”