I HOPE IT ISN'T TRUE

That we went on the cheap with the best possible form of propaganda.

The postwar director of U.S.-backed Iraqi Television announced Tuesday that he has quit, saying inadequate funding made it impossible to compete with rival networks from countries such as Iran that criticize the American occupation.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, the director, Ahmad al-Rikaby, said that while vacationing in London on Friday he had informed the management of Iraqi Media Network that he was quitting.

''The U.S. didn't really succeed in countering the propaganda of such anti-coalition networks as al-Jazeera in Qatar,'' he said, complaining that inadequate funding, equipment and training for staff members had left the network unable to meet the need for objective news.

He said Iraqi Media Network was only able to broadcast 16 hours a day, compared with 24-hour news reports from al-Jazeera and Iran's al-Alam networks that included audio tapes believed to be from Saddam Hussein.

''If Saddam and his supporters didn't think such broadcasts were beneficial to their cause, they wouldn't use them,'' said al-Rikaby, 34. ''I have no doubt that there is a hidden message in the broadcasts by several Arabic networks inciting Iraqis to resist the push toward democracy.''