---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2003 08:59:42 -0800 (PST) From: jay gatsby <principio_0@yahoo.com> To: nettime <nettime-l@bbs.thing.net> Subject: <nettime> Aljazeera VS. U.S AL JAZEERA VS. U.S. By Jay Gatsby (http://principia_ny.blogspot.com) The 24-hour Arabic news network Al Jazirah has a very intersting place in the scheme of current events in the Middle East. Since 1996, Al Jazirah has become the most popular Arab news network, with over 50 million viewers. It has been highly acclaimed by journalists around the world for its in-depth, quality reporting. Like all quality news stations, however, it is controversial--particularly for western governments and their Mid-East allies. Jordan, kuwait, and Lybia, for example, have all banned Al Jazirah journalists from their territories. Over and over, whenever we hear anything about a Bin Laden tape or a statement by Saddam Hussein, in the American news, Al Jazirah is the cited source. News about the war on Afghanistan depends heavily on this channel, since the Taliban doesn't allow western media crews into its territory and Al Jazirah is one of only two Arab news networks that are permitted access. As well, the network is particularly reknowned for its reporting of humanitarian conditions throughout the middle east--especially the plight of Palestinians. I wouldn't be surprised if Al Jazirah had a lot to do with putting Palestine on the international agenda. Unlike the U.S media, they seem to give some historical context when reporting mid-east conflict. For example, they always mention the fact that the U.S put Saddam Hussein in power and supported him in the early 80's--things that are absolutely NEVER mentioned in the American press. The network did not exist during the first Gulf War.During the first 5 days of Gulf War II, however, Al Jazirah has already presented a challenge to the U.S: First by broadcasting Saddam Hussein's messages to the Iraqi people; second, by broadcasting vivid pictures of the Iraqi people who have been killed or injured by America's "shock and awe" campaign; third, by showing footage of the recent U.S and British prisoners of war, something about which U.S and British officials want to press 'embarrassment' charges; and fourth, by its coverage of the war on Afghanistan.Thus, we are now witnessing a clash between Al Jazirah and the U.S government. In fact, U.S secretary of state Collin Powell sent a letter to the Qatar government, requesting that it sensor Al Jazirah--to no avail. Within the past few days, Al Jazeera has been banned from the NASDAQ and from the New York Stock Exchange. Rumsfeld has talked about destroying all television and radio communication in Iraq. In recent days, the military has done just that, but Iraq has been able to restore its radio and T.V transmissions after every bombardment. During the opening stages of the war on Afghanistan, the U.S bombed an Al Jazirah bureau in Kabul. U.S officials claimed that the hit was 'unintended.' All of this has raised serious concerns within the International Federation of Journalists(http://www.ifj.org), which claims that the attacks are a direct violation of the Geneva Convention and has called for a U.N investigation of the destruction of Iraqi television stations. Al Jazirah is based in Qatar and a shut-down of Iraqi television will not prevent everyone else in the Middle east --everyone else period--from knowing what is going on in Iraq. Next to budgeting and finishing the war on terrorism, Al Jazirah is just about the biggest problem the U.S has in the middle east. Al Jazirah is available in the U.S through satellite T.V and an English version is due to come out on cable soon. The U.S government has recommended American businessmen to not advertise on this channel. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net