USA: In a major speech to drum up support for war with Iraq, US President Mr George Bush said that removing President Saddam Hussein from power would bring stability and democracy to the region and lay the groundwork for the emergence of a Palestinian state.
"Success in Iraq could begin a new stage for Middle Eastern peace, and set in motion progress towards a truly democratic Palestinian state," Mr Bush said, in his first significant comment on the Middle East conflict in eight months. Israeli settlements must end "as progress is made towards peace", he said, and Israel "will be expected to support the creation of a viable Palestinian state.
"The passing of Saddam Hussein's regime will deprive terrorist networks of a wealthy patron that pays for terrorist training, and offers rewards to families of suicide bombers. 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," he said.
Mr Bush's sudden new focus on the Arab-Israeli conflict comes after intensive lobbying from his closest allies on Iraq, British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair, and Spanish Prime Minister Mr Jose Maria Aznar, for help to withstand the mounting pressures they face over support for war.
They were also timed to precede talks in Washington today on a Middle East "road map" to peace between an EU delegation led by the Greek Foreign Minister, Mr George Papandreou, and US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell.
The EU has been pressing Washington to lay out a timetable for the creation of a Palestinian state, although observers noted that Mr Bush did not set out any steps forward in his speech. US officials said the administration was reluctant to upset Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon, who favours expanding settlements, on the eve of a war in which the US will need Israeli co-operation.
US television networks interrupted their scheduled programmes to broadcast the speech, delivered at a dinner held by the American Enterprise Institute in Washington yesterday evening.
Mr Bush cited the rebuilding in Japan and Europe after the second World War to depict US military action in Iraq as beneficial in the long term and convince viewers of the need for his nation-building plans in Iraq.
America was not concerned with conquest but with removing a dictator "who has shown the power of tyranny to spread discord and violence in the Middle East.
"After defeating enemies, we did not leave behind occupying armies, we left constitutions and parliaments," he said. "We established an atmosphere of safety, in which responsible, reform-minded local leaders could build lasting institutions of freedom. In societies that once bred fascism and militarism, liberty found a permanent home.
"A liberated Iraq can show the power of freedom to transform that vital region, by bringing hope and progress into the lives of millions. A new regime in Iraq would serve as a dramatic and inspiring example of freedom for other nations in the region."
Mr Bush responded to claims at anti-war demonstrations and in world-wide opinion polls that the US represented more of a threat to peace and stability than Iraq.
"I've listened carefully, as people and leaders around the world have made known their desire for peace," he said. "All of us want peace. The threat to peace does not come from those who seek to enforce the just demands of the civilised world; the threat to peace comes from those who flout those demands."
He called it "presumptuous and insulting" to believe that the Muslim world would not welcome freedom and democracy. "There was a time when many said that the cultures of Japan and Germany were incapable of sustaining democratic values. Well, they were wrong. Some say the same of Iraq today. They are mistaken."
Mr Bush promised medicine and food for Iraqis, and a guarantee of democracy and territorial integrity. "Rebuilding Iraq will require a sustained commitment from many nations, including our own," he said. "We will remain in Iraq as long as necessary, and not a day more."