ISLAMABAD, April 27: The US media managers are at it again. Disseminating volumes of propaganda material on Iraq war to media organisations. Only it is a little different this time round.

The last time the US media managers undertook this self- serving exercise was before the US-led military attack was unleashed on Iraq. The printed material circulated then was aimed at justifying the pre-emptive strike against Iraq and the regime change there.

The entire case was built around Iraq’s (hidden) Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), the biological and chemical weapons and the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein.

Now that Iraq has been battered and invaded at the cost of thousands of innocent lives and no WMDs have been unearthed, the US public affairs managers are focusing on romanticizing the war. Condemned, deplored and criticised by governments and people the world over for spearheading the illegal and ruthless military onslaught, the US public affairs and media managers have occupied themselves with damage control now.

After bulldozing the rule of law, trampling the principles of UN Charter, killing hundreds of civilians, orphaning and maiming thousands of children in the name of “freedom” and “liberation”, an attempt is being made to glorify the American and British soldiers who waged the most unpopular war. A war without any convincing evidence.

A pictorial magazine titled: “Iraq Liberated” distributed early this week carries images of US and British marines and doctors providing humanitarian assistance, food and medical care to the Iraqi war victims. It also contains pictures of “free Iraqis” making friends with their invaders and occupiers.

Other US publications, including the latest issue of the Urdu fortnightly “Khabar-o-Nazar” also highlight such positive, people-friendly images of the occupying servicemen and women.

The selective portrayal of compassion and helpfulness of the occupation forces, the joy of Iraqi civilians and the cheerful interaction between the two is a sorry attempt by the aggressors to heal the wounds that have left a deep scar.

Images of a war-ravaged country, maimed and crying children, helpless and anguish-stricken parents, the dying and destitute cannot be forgotten easily. These images unveil the duplicity of the powers that claim to be the champions of democracy and human rights. Also, they convey the hollowness of the self-proclaimed “liberators” who first slapped sanctions on the Iraqi civilians and then bombed them, butchering many and trampling their historic treasures and the heritage of Iraq.

These images will remain as a rebuke to mankind. They are a testimony of the one-sided, unjust war. A war for oil not peace, for self-interest not principles.