The United States wants to use its old tricks to launch a propaganda war against Iran as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has lobbied the Congress to give another $75 million in addition to the original $10 million budget.

The money will be used to launch media offensive to the Iranian public, support Iran's opposition parties and promote the "Iranian democratic process".

Rice claimed to the senators that Iran has become the US biggest strategic threat in the Middle East.

She added that the Tehran government's activities on uranium enrichment are worrisome, and the US doesn't want to see the Middle East region fall under the ��Iranian hegemony'.

According to Rice's proposal, among the $75 million, $50 million will be used to expand its Persian radio and TV broadcasting including the satellite television broadcasting to the Iranian public and Radio Farda supported by the US so that they can be broadcast 24 hours a day without any stop.

The Washington Post newspaper also reported last Tuesday that Voice of America will cancel some foreign language programs so that they can transfer more resources to the Middle East and the anti-terrorist hot spots.

As an Islamic country, Iran is dubbed as EuroAsia Continental Bridge. With such an important strategic position and rich oil and natural gas reserve, Iran has long been in a tense relationship with the US. To promote Iran's democratic process is one of the Bush administration's main goals for its Greater Middle East Initiative. Thus, the US has been very generous on media. Over the past 15 years, the government has spent $15 million on Persian radio and TV broadcasting every year, and paid great attention to the Iranian-operated Persian Satellite TV channel in the US.

Rice's proposal and VOA's measures show that with the escalation of Iranian nuke issue, while threatening sanctions and military action and using its technological advantage in media and strong influence on the international community, the US is taking broadcasting as an important channel to exercise ideological infiltration and cultural invasion to Iran. By reporting contents with the US emphasis, these radio and TV programs help instill information in accordance with the US interest and sense of value into the Iranian public's minds. And gradually it will influence Iranian people's feelings, motivation, judgment and action and speed up the process of splitting Iran by political sabotage.

The US strengthening of propaganda war on Iran reminds people of Iraq. During the Iraq war, the US media controlled by the US government and the military played a special role, especially before the Iraq war, the US media demonized Iraq by distorted facts to cook up the news that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction to influence the Iraqis' psychology, weaken Iraqi troops' will of fighting, mislead the international community and create a favorable environment for the US to attack Iraq.

Currently, the US who has fallen into the mire of Iraq war couldn't immediately open another battle field in Iran, thus with a ��war without smoke' to weaken Iran's political foundation and even sabotage its authority can be a measure of expediency.

With the experiences in Iraq and facing the US aggressive media offensive, the Iranian government won't let it be. In addition to protesting the US to intervene its domestic affairs, and strengthen its anti-American education, Iran has taken other measures to fight against the US infiltration through Satellite programs. It has issued an order to cancel all the illegally installed satellite antennas and forbid US satellite signals to land in Iran and intervene the signals by sending out microwave trucks.

With all these measures, it seems to be doubtful if the US media offensive will achieve expected results.

By People's Daily Online