By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent
LEESBURG, VA. (Reuters) - The Bush administration, responding to criticism it has not planned sufficiently for a post-Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites) Iraq, promised on Saturday its military forces would not enter the country as "conquerors" or treat the Iraqi people as a "defeated nation."
While reaffirming a decision on using force against Iraq had not been made, Zalmay Khalilzad, a senior aide to President Bush ( news - web sites), said, "Should force be required, U.S. and coalition forces will liberate the Iraqi people from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein."
"We will not enter Iraq as conquerors. We will not treat the Iraqi people as a defeated nation," he said, reading from a written statement.
He also said it was unlikely Washington would support creation of a provisional post-Saddam government until after Iraq's "liberation."
His comments to an annual conference sponsored by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy were seen as presaging an important televised speech on Iraq that Bush has set for next week and were intended to build as much support as possible within Iraq for a potential U.S. military campaign.
The U.N. Security Council is debating new instructions for U.N. inspectors charged with disarming Iraq. Bush has expressed doubts Baghdad will comply and said war may be unavoidable.
U.S. officials and experts say the success of a war against Iraq would depend heavily on how U.S. forces are received by the Iraqi people and by Iraqi military officers who might be persuaded to rise up against their leader.
Khalilzad's comments also seemed designed to reassure U.S. friends and allies anxious about a possible war.
The administration initially turned down a request to have a senior official discuss Iraq at the conference, but reversed course after public criticism for not participating in a program held on Thursday on plans for a post-Saddam Iraq.
At that program, leading Republican conservative Richard Perle and members of the Iraqi opposition exile community accused the administration of failing to lay sufficient plans for bringing democracy to Iraq if Saddam is overthrown.
Opposition leaders also expressed doubt about the U.S. commitment to a democratic Iraq and complained that the Bush team had refused to endorse a transitional authority that would be ready to take political power right after Saddam departs.
U.S. WOULD SERVE IRAQIS
Khalilzad, who oversees Iraq policy at the National Security Council, said the U.S. "mission in Iraq will be to serve the interests and the hopes of the Iraqi people..., a gifted and great people with ancient culture."
Long-term objectives include "establishing a broad-based representative and democratic government ... that will renounce terror and weapons of mass destruction, respect international laws and norms, give all religious and ethnic groups a voice, adhere to the rule of law ... and become an example of peace and tolerance for the region as a whole," he said.
In the short-term, he promised Washington would "look to reunify Iraq ... and maintain its territorial integrity."
The United States will "meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people," including immediately starting a major reconstruction program and possibly forgiving certain debts and other financial obligations, he said.
The ruling Baath Party will be disrupted, individuals accused of crimes against humanity will be prosecuted and Iraq's oil wealth will be used to meet its people's needs.
Iraqi opposition leaders have pushed the United States to endorse a provisional government that would be ready to govern immediately after Saddam is overthrown.
Khalilzad called that scenario "a possibility but I think more likely that there would have to be liberation first and then a government put in place."
Another senior U.S. official told Reuters separately that Washington opposes naming a transitional government now in part because the Iraqi opposition has failed to stop its infighting long enough to agree on a democratic vision for the country.
"We don't know enough about what's going on inside Iraq. ... We don't think the Iraqi opposition yet has laid out its vision for Iraq," he said in an interview.
The Los Angeles Times reported recently the administration was planning a transition to a new government in Baghdad built around a leader emerging from inside Iraq.