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BACK TO : Al Jazeera controversy
Another Look at Al-Jazeera by G Robinson 
Another Look at Al-Jazeera DUBAI - If you are looking for a perfect example of a story that is getting a lot of attention here in the Middle East but practically none at home President George W. Bush's alleged threat to bomb Al-Jazeera's headquarters is one of the best examples in recent memory. For those unfamiliar with this item, on November 22nd London's Daily Mirror published an article based on a leaked memo from 10 Downing Street that purports to recount a conversation on April 16 of last year between President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. According to the Mirror the memo says Bush "planned" to bomb Al-Jazeera, "but he was talked out of it at a White house summit by Tony Blair, who said it would provoke a worldwide backlash." White House officials have dismissed the report, and a British source told the mirror the comment was made in jest. American media have largely ignored the story, perhaps because the sourcing is so tenuous. (See for yourself at: % 2dplot%2dto%2dbomb%2dhis%2darab%2dally-name_page.html)
In the Middle East, however, it has received a lot of coverage- not least because it confirms many people's worst ideas about this administration. Its real significance, however, lies in what it reminds us about the broader American relationship with Al-Jazeera. Let's take a moment to say here that the story raises many, many red flags. Aside from the fact that the Mirror itself would hardly be my first choice for an authorative British media source, there is the fact that there are no named sources in the article. A careful reading indicates that no one at the Mirror has actually seen the memo in question. Even if the Bush administration wanted to bomb Al-Jazeera how would they do it? A complex of several buildings in a business district of a friendly capital where there is no ongoing war? They could hardly send in jets. A suicide car bomber would be unlikely to get through the network's security gate (I've been through that gate and it is pretty well-guarded), and even if he did it would hardly be something the administration could take credit for - even indirectly - as some form of 'punishment'. So we are now entering the realm of urban legend. But, in terms of impact, that may not matter. Many Arab journalists are absolutely convinced that the U.S. has targeted them directly in Afghanistan and Iraq. Granted the almost pathological attitude many Americans - and not just administration officials - display toward Al-Jazeera this should hardly be surprising. On October 24, a few hours after the bombing at Baghdad's Palestine Hotel I spoke with an American NCO who had come to the Fox bureau to check on me and my staff. The soldier insisted Al-Jazeera had foreknowledge of the attacks (three car bombs and a barrage of rocket propelled grenades aimed at a U.S. military observation post inside the hotel compound). Al-Jazeera appeared, he said, to have had a helicopter hovering over the hotel waiting for the attack. He knew this, he said, because they had shown pictures of the car bombing only minutes after it took place. He was shocked when I told him the pictures he was referring to were taken by a roof-mounted security camera owned by the Associated Press (another occupant of the hotel). Al-Jazeera was simply faster than either CNN or the BBC in turning the pictures around and getting them on the air. How did Al-Jazeera have access to an AP tape, the soldier asked? Because, I replied, they are an AP subscriber& just like CNN, Fox, the BBC and Iraqi television. What the whole incident highlights is the degree to which the US - administration and public alike - have become blinkered in their approach to Al-Jazeera, believing stories of the network's mendacity on the basis of little or no evidence. When I'm in the States and people start going on about the channel's evil intentions I often ask if they've ever actually seen Al-Jazeera - really seen it, not watched clips on other networks. The answer is usually 'no'. I then ask if they speak Arabic - the answer, of course, is also 'no'. Al-Jazeera is far from perfect. Its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can slip into the maudlin. Its call-in shows have been known to allow just about anyone to rant about just about anything with little attempt by hosts to control the debate. Its newscasts can be unrelentingly grim - dwelling on carnage across the region and making little effort to showcase the Middle East's real diversity. Still, it has been a revolutionary force in the Middle East, and its journalists put themselves on the line throughout the region every day. It is far from perfect, but then so are the western stations it competes against. Its people deserve our respect, and a fair-minded assessment& something they rarely get in either the Western media or from the American government these days. |