“The United States seems to have obtained an international mandate in the UN Security Council vote (on Thursday) to occupy Iraq and control its (oil) riches and revenue sources,” the Saudi daily Al-Watan said.

The resolution, adopted 14-0, unveiled the “real reasons behind the US invasion, which was justified by the alleged presence of weapons of mass destruction,” the paper said.

Dubai’s Al-Bayan said the resolution “grants Washington and its allies the right to occupy Iraq and manage its funds in the absence of any legitimate government elected by the Iraqi people.

“This resolution also allows the United States to take control of Iraqi oil while handing the United Nations a marginal and worthless role in this country.”

Al-Khaleej, also of the United Arab Emirates, said US President George W. Bush had “devoured Iraq and will use up its riches and will give only crumbs to the Iraqi people.

“Bush will dictate to the Iraqis how to live, what to eat, what army they must form and what doctrine they must adopt,” it said.

In Qatar, Al-Raya said the UN resolution “seems to give the occupation troops all legitimacy to manage the economy of Iraq, its oil and decide its political future.”

“The floodgates have been opened for big businesses,” Sharjah’s Gulf Today charged, accusing the US and Britain of falsely sitting “tight on the lid of sanctions” for 13 years in the name of the Iraqi people.

The English-language paper also criticized France and Germany for supporting the resolution, saying the “bait of reconstruction was too sweet to refuse even for the rich, let alone the dwindling economies of Europe.”