Images of US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, with their talk of “liberating” Iraqis, are merely adding fuel to the flames. People here are also angry about how the war is being covered by Western news channels.

An angry Muhammad Al-Wa’el, editor in chief of Arabic daily Al-Youm, said the ruthlessness of American and British forces is a stark reminder of World War II, when human life lost all value.

He added that the war in Iraq will leave a permanent scar on humanity.

“In an unjustified war innocent people, mainly women and children, are being killed in the name of regime change. Many of the families in Baghdad have at least one victim of war. How could these people ever relish the so-called emancipation from Saddam Hussein?” he asked.

Saleh Al-Humaidan, managing director of Dar Al-Youm, said that killing of Iraqi civilians was nothing but genocide. “The war is a complete negation of the United Nations, Geneva Convention, world public opinion and, above all, human values. The British and American forces are literally butchering Iraqis and, tragically, they are not repentant. Rather, they are trying to justify their inhuman action,” he said.

Aqeel Al-Rabi?e, an Iraqi exile who has now acquired British nationality and works in Dammam, was in tears.

“These are my people who have suffered so much at the hands of Saddam Hussein for so many years and are now dying at the hands of British and Americans,” he said, adding that most of the Iraqis do not have any love for Saddam but at the same time “don’t want an invasion by foreign forces”.

He said that there were more than five million Iraqi exiles around the world, and most of them wanted to return home; but they would never want to return to a country ruled by Americans and Britons.

“All the waving and cheering Iraqis shown on news channels are stage-managed by the invading army,” he claimed.

People here also blasted Western news channels, saying they made a mockery of journalism. “In every bombing on civilian population by American jets, these channels tried to create a doubt among the viewers whether the attack was by Americans or Iraqis themselves,” said Aqeel.

He ridiculed the American explanation that they bombed yesterday the Al-Mansur district of Baghdad because they received information that Saddam’s two sons were meeting in a restaurant in the same area.