Hey, Kerry’s the candidate that Al-Jazeera wants. Why shouldn’t that be made obvious?

Kerry’s the great nuancer. He’ll come to terms with the Islamofascists if given a chance. Their terms, of course.

Posted by: Limpet at July 25, 2004 05:18 PM

I think this is a dumb idea. Hang the banner so it can serve as a warning label. “Al-Jazeera! Beware! Lies emerge from within every hour on the hour! First four rows may get tricked!”

Posted by: Jeff Harrell at July 25, 2004 05:36 PM

In the Western media, the al-Jazeera satellite news network is often described as “the Arab CNN.” This is certainly how many Canadian commentators have described it during the debate about admitting the network to this country’s airwaves.

But the term is misleading. Like other major Western news networks, CNN purports to be an objective news source. The same cannot be said for al-Jazeera.

Few of its viewers in the Arab world could mistake al-Jazeera’s slant on the “War against Terror.” In Egypt, one media commentator has dubbed it “al-Qaeda’s satellite channel.” Another calls it “the terrorists’ mouthpiece.” Though exaggerations, they contain a grain of truth.

Part of al-Jazeera’s appeal is based on its direct access to important sources. Following U.S. action against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in late 2001, blurry images of missile strikes were produced by the U.S. military. But only one voice emerged to tell the story from the targets’ perspective. At the beginning of the war, al-Jazeera correspondent Tayseer Allouni was the sole international journalist reporting regularly from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Indeed, his face competed with prerecorded messages from Osama bin Laden for air time throughout the world.

Allouni reported on the mood in Kabul. Paula Zahn interviewed him on CNN. His demeanor was well-suited to a Western audience. But the question remains: Why was he the only reporter who the Taliban government allowed in the capital? It is curious that as soon as the Taliban left Kabul, Allouni left as well. Later, he was the subject of allegations connected to the Madrid bombings of March 11, and forbidden to leave Spain. Yet he continues to report for al-Jazeera to this day.

Allouni’s access to the Taliban can only be compared to that of his colleague, Ahmed Mansour, who has access to the Zarqawi terrorist group in Iraq. Or his other colleague, Faisal al-Qasim, who, according to credible reports, worked for Iraqi intelligence under Saddam Hussein.

Al-Jazeera was launched in 1996. It originated with an offshore station based in London, the Arabic BBC. After that project was shut down for financial and political reasons, many of its staff members were hired to work for a new station owned by the royal family of Qatar. The chairman of the board is Sheikh Tamar Al-Thani, a member of the country’s ruling family and its Minister of Information. Its US$130-million in annual financing comes from a line item in Qatar’s budget.

Al-Jazeera reports about everything in the Arab world, with one exception: Affairs in Qatar, where the ruling Sheikh was deposed by his son, Hamad, in a bloodless coup nine years ago. Since then, the new emir has replaced the crown prince and evicted the bani Murra tribe because of its support for the previous regime. These events comprise legitimate news stories, but have never been reported by al-Jazeera: Notwithstanding its reputation as an “independent voice” in the West, the station is in fact entirely beholden to the Qatari government.

The popularity of al-Jazeera can be traced to operation Desert Fox, a 1998 U.S. bombing campaign aimed at eliminating various military targets in Iraq. As in Taliban-held Afghanistan three years later, al-Jazeera was the only station covering the event. Two years later, the network gained popularity by providing raw coverage of the Palestinian intifada. Its willingness to offer criticism of various Arab countries and leaders has also enhanced its appeal over the years.

In form, at least, the network’s shows generally mimic those produced by CNN. For instance, Crossfire became Al-Itijah Al-Muakis (The Opposite View). And Larry King Live became Sami Haddad Roundtable.

But the resemblance is superficial. The aim often seems to approximate that of former Egyptian president Gamal Abdul Nasser’s “Voice of the Arabs” radio station, which transmitted Arab nationalist propaganda in the 1960s and 1970s. In other words, it is a mobilization media source focused on whipping up support for causes deemed important. Many Arab liberals and independent thinkers who do not bear allegiance to either Islamism or Arab nationalism have effectively been barred from the network’s airwaves.

Watching al-Jazeera, one might forget that the 9-11 attacks ever occurred, and think that the United States invaded Afghanistan and Iraq for no reason other than to target Muslims. There is little mention of the crimes committed by the Taliban and bin Laden. One hears little of Saddam’s genocidal campaign against the Kurds, or about the Syrian and Yemeni terrorists who brought their wives and children to Falujah. Arabs see only the images of maimed Afghan and Iraqi children “suffering under America’s bombardment.”

Instead, bin Laden and his ilk are typically portrayed as victims, even as models for the Arab young. For several months, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraq’s most prolific terrorist, has been depicted as a pious Muslim. Almost every day, al-Jazeera runs a favoured sound bite, in which bin Laden declares that America will not see peace until the Palestinians see peace. Meanwhile, Haddad continues to tell his audience that it is still unknown who arranged the 9/11 attacks. Thanks to al-Jazeera, many young viewers see al-Qaeda in a positive light.

Indeed, al-Jazeera has been bin Laden’s favourite channel since its inception. Some of al-Jazeera’s on-air hosts — such as Maher Abdullah, Ahmed Mansour and Taysir Allouni — are Islamists themselves. Mansour, who hosts the political program Bila Hudoud (Without Borders), is a disciple of Sheikh Qaradawi, a prominent leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Since 1988, Mansour has served as Peshawar correspondent to many Arab papers. While in Pakistan, he cultivated an impressive network of relations with Islamist leaders. In Falujah, Mansour reported with tears in his eyes as he described the fight the Mujahdeen put up against the Americans. Zarqawi himself praised Mansour’s coverage.

Mansour was once managing editor of Al-Mujtama’a (The Society) magazine, a Kuwaiti weekly published by Islamists. (From this outfit came the Kuwaiti Abu Qheith, a regular on al-Qaeda videotapes). Mansour was brought to al-Jazeera in 1996 to produce and host an Islamist show, Al-Shari’a Wal-Haya (Life and Islamic law), which is now hosted by Abdullah.

During a recent talk show on BBC Radio’s Arabic service, I had the opportunity to ask al-Jazeera news director Ibrahim Hilal about the links between al-Jazeera reporters and militant insiders. He merely stated that, like other channels, his was always searching for a scoop. He also failed to answer allegations published in the Arab press claiming that many of al- Jazeera reporters were on Saddam’s payroll. Saddam used to pay al- Jazeera reporters vouchers that they would later collect from the oil company dealing with Iraq. The Iraqi newspaper Al-Mada published many of these vouchers and other relevant documents that implicated many pro-Saddam journalists at al-Jazeera and other media outlets.

I’ve also faced off with the al-Jazeera Washington bureau chief on TV, and asked him why his network does not report the genocidal campaign waged by the government of Sudan against Africans in Darfur. Why does it not cover the killing of Kurds in Syria or the kidnapping and killings in Qatar? Why do they run tapes of the beheadings of Americans, which are essentially recruitment announcements for Zarqawi?

I received no answers except that such actions comprise legitimate resistance.

America seems to have lost the early rounds of the post-9/11 media war in the Arab world. And U.S. government officials are themselves partially responsible: Many Arab journalists complain about how American officials are playing bin Laden’s game by giving interviews to al-Jazeera instead of other Arab channels. One editor I know who supports the U.S. war against terror asked why “U.S. officials give interviews only to those who insult America.”

It is a good question. Members of the anti-terrorism coalition should at least put al-Jazeera in perspective, as there are many other channels and audiences out there. After sifting through eight years of al-Jazeera broadcasts and scrutinizing the connections of its journalists, it is clear to me that al-Jazeera is not an objective news source, but rather a media arm and recruiting tool of al-Qaeda. It should be treated as such by all those who would permit it entry into Canada’s media market.

Mamoun Fandy
National Post
Saturday, July 24, 2004

Posted by: Braintrust at July 25, 2004 06:44 PM

-*

A free and independent press is a corner stone of freedom and liberty. ( Being responsible is part of the deal. )

” ” The Jezeero ” reminds me of Pravada or what ever the ” Stalinists ” called their organ of subterfuge dissemination. ” > B. S. Spreder

” … so we know what happens to them in the end. ” MRA

GES*G911

Posted by: augurwell at July 25, 2004 11:52 PM