The Al-Jazeera News Network: Opportunity or Challenge for U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East?
Released: 2003-07-23T00:00:00

Al-Jazeera: An Overview

Origins

Al-Jazeera (which means "the peninsula," or "the island") was founded in 1996 in Qatar after the new Emir of Qatar, Shaykh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, purchased the rights to the Arabic TVdivision of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News Service. The BBC had been trying todevelop an all-Arabic television station in conjunction with the Saudi-owned Orbit Radio andTelevision Service. The joint venture failed after the two parties could not agree on issues relatingto the new station's editorial independence. (1) TheQatari monarchy, which also has closely aligneditself with U.S. policy in the Persian Gulf region, was embarking upon a limited course of politicalliberalization and believed that modernizing Arab media was central to its reform effort. The Emirof Qatar provided Al-Jazeera with an initial grant of $137 million, (2) allowing the station to retainmany of the BBC's recently hired Arab correspondents, many of whom are prominent Egyptian andLebanese journalists with western training.

Prior to Al-Jazeera, Arab audiences could receive their news from either state-owned media or from several Arab satellite variety channels that broadcast both entertainment and newsprogramming. The news on all of these channels was, and still is, to some degree censored andcontrolled by state authorities. Even transnational, subscription-based Arab satellite channels tendto reflect the viewpoints of the governments of the countries in which they are located. (3) Therefore,many analysts considered Al-Jazeera to be a novelty in the Arab world, not only because it was thefirst 24 hour, all-news Arabic television station, but also because it allowed its commentators andguests more latitude in expressing their opinions (including criticisms of Arab governments) thanhad been previously regarded as the norm in the Arab media. In fact, the creators of Al-Jazeeramodeled the station's format after western news services such as the Cable News Network (CNN)and the BBC, professing admiration for western stations' roundtable discussion programs,one-on-one interviews, and documentaries.

Although Al-Jazeera borrowed the format of CNN, its creators set out to differentiate Al-Jazeera from its western counterparts. Many of Al-Jazeera's correspondents were drawn to workfor the station because they felt that American and British coverage of the 1991 Gulf War was noteven-handed in that it paid insufficient attention to topics of interest to Arab audiences, such as theplight of Iraqi civilians during the conflict. Thus, Al-Jazeera believes that it provides an alternativeperspective, particularly to the American and British news media. Al-Jazeera's motto, "The Viewand the Other Point of View," reflects its desire to be an uncensored, authentically Arab news sourcefor Arabs.

Programming

Although Al-Jazeera, like most 24-hour news networks, intersperses news updates with headlines, sports, and financial news broadcasts throughout the day, its regularly scheduledprogramming is unconventional when compared to other Arab networks. Al-Jazeera has programssuch as "The Opposite Direction," "Without Borders," "The Other Opinion," and "Open Dialogue,"each of which features a well-known host who facilitates a lively discussion with some call-inquestions and comments. Viewers of Al-Jazeera have noted that the station's staff often try toencourage confrontation by pitting guests with opposite viewpoints against one another in debate.This approach has proven to be informative and entertaining for many viewers; however, some Arabintellectuals have criticized the approach as being too sensationalistic and heated.

Beyond Al-Jazeera's programming, many western critics have accused the station of creating inflammatory lead-in segments to news reports, which often feature montages of violence in theWest Bank and Gaza Strip, Afghanistan, or Iraq. These short snippets contain flashes of provocativepictures, usually of human suffering, accompanied by dramatic background music. Al-Jazeera calledits coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom, "The War Against Iraq," and used lead-ins that showedcivilian casualties in Iraqi hospitals, exploding bombs in Baghdad, and U.S. soldiers on patrol incivilian areas. Some suggest that Al-Jazeera is merely following a Middle Eastern tradition ofdramatizing news events by appealing emotionally to the viewer. According to Al-Jazeera'sWashington Bureau Chief, Hafez Al-Mirazi, "there is a feeling in our newsroom that you need to beas realistic as possible and carry the images of war and the effect that war has on people ... yourpopulation shouldn't just eat their dinner and watch sanitized images on TV and video gamesproduced by the technological whizzes in the Pentagon and say this is war." (4)

Objectivity

Since its inception, Al-Jazeera has received an enormous amount of publicity for breaking many of the taboos of self-censorship in the Arab media. New York Times columnist Tom Friedman wrotethat Al-Jazeera is "not only the biggest media phenomenon to hit the Arab world since the adventof television, it also is the biggest political phenomenon." (5) Indeed, many Middle Eastern expertshave praised Al-Jazeera for creating a forum in which Arab opposition movements can freelycriticize their host governments without fear of retribution. According to Edmund Ghareeb, an experton Middle Eastern affairs, "it has raised the level of debate and opened the door for freer and moreaccurate news in the Arab world ... Al-Jazeera has helped satisfy a hunger in the Arab world. Itsdebates and discussion programs are tumultuous even by western standards." (6)

However, for all of the praise Al-Jazeera has received, there has been an equal amount of criticism regarding the network's perceived lack of objectivity. Many western media analysts haveasserted that Al-Jazeera's western-style format is merely a cover for a reporting style that is slantedtoward a popular pan-Arab, pan-Islamist viewpoint. According to critic Fouad Ajami of JohnsHopkins University, "no matter how many Americans show up on Al-Jazeera, the station will pursueits own oppositional agenda. Al-Jazeera's reporters see themselves as anti-imperialists. These menand women are convinced that the rulers of the Arab world have given in to American might; theseare broadcasters who play to an Arab gallery whose political bitterness they share -- and feed." (7) Moafac Harb, director of network news for the U.S. government's Middle East Radio Network,known as Radio Sawa, has argued that Al-Jazeera feigns its objectivity by inviting U.S. and Israeliofficials to present their views, while carrying provocative analysis in the studio, or one-sided newsstories lacking neutrality prior to or following these same interviews. (8) U.S. Ambassador Chris Ross,a fluent Arabic-speaker who has appeared on Al-Jazeera several times, commented that "it[Al-Jazeera] has a clear point of view on the events it is presenting for analysis and discussion ...with Al-Jazeera what you often get is several people, but all at one end of the spectrum. So there'swork to be done to induce more balance. But on the whole the advent of Al-Jazeera and other Arabsatellite stations has been a great step forward in opening up the intellectual and cultural life of theArab world." (9)

In May 2003, Britain's Sunday Times reported that Iraqi intelligence files uncovered after the Iraq war revealed that Iraqi intelligence had penetrated Al-Jazeera and had agents working there. (10) Shortly after this revelation, Al-Jazeera replaced its Chief Executive Officer, Mohammed JasimAl-Ali, who had been CEO of Al-Jazeera since its inception. According to press reports, thedocuments, which were obtained in Baghdad by the Iraqi National Congress, indicated that Al-Alimade clear to Iraqi agents that coverage would favor the Saddam Hussein regime. Al-Ali willcontinue to serve on Al-Jazeera's board of directors.

Defenders of Al-Jazeera have decried criticism of the station, noting that all newspapers and television stations have some degree of bias and that Al-Jazeera has at least given air time todissenting opinions. According to the Beirut-based Daily Star , "in its coverage of the Intifada (Palestinian uprising), and the war in Afghanistan, Al-Jazeera has actually given a voice to every sidein the conflict, and done nothing more than televise the images its reporters are seeing." (11) In aninterview with the Christian Science Monitor , the chair of the department of journalism and masscommunication at the American University of Cairo remarked that "sure, the news we get in theArab world is slanted ... in the same way the news received in the U.S. is biased." (12)

Al-Jazeera and Qatar

There has been considerable speculation as to why the station has been able to report the news freely, given the restrictive media environment in neighboring Arab states. Many commentators haveattempted to answer this question by pointing to the nature of the Qatari state, as well as to the effortsof the Emir of Qatar to liberalize Qatari society, while using these political and social reforms topromote Qatar itself and increase its regional and global influence. Qatar is one of the most stablecountries in the Middle East, with a per capita income of over $25,000 for a population of 800,000people, only 170,000 of whom have citizenship (the majority of the rest are foreign workers fromSouth East Asia and the Phillippines). Analysts have pointed out that Al-Jazeera's openness andits"maverick" reporting style serves to promote Qatar as a progressive, modern state in the MiddleEast. Indeed, although the Qatari government has publicly sought to distance itself from Al-Jazeera,in terms of ownership, organization, and editorial output, both the state and the station enjoy amutually beneficial relationship, in which the visibility of Al-Jazeera has led to an increase in theprominence of Qatar. Thus, Al-Jazeera, although functionally independent, (13) could be said toindirectly serve the foreign policy goals of Qatar.

Some experts question whether, in the long term, Al-Jazeera can maintain independence if it is unable to wean itself off of Qatari state financing. Originally, Al-Jazeera executives believed thatAl-Jazeera would be profitable by 2001. Two factors have prevented the station from generatingmore revenue: First, general market conditions in the Middle East advertising industry have not beenfavorable. There are already several Arab satellite television channels and as more stations comeonline and the situation in Iraq remains uncertain, advertising revenue will remain uneven. Second,there is a hesitation on the part of Arab conglomerates to advertise on Al-Jazeera, as they are fearfulthat Al-Jazeera's shaky relationships with Arab governments could harm their business interests.Because of these obstacles, the station is still running annual deficits, despite its rather leanworkforce of 775 employees worldwide (CNN has 4,000 and BBC has 3,300). Several U.S.companies have run advertisements on Al-Jazeera, including General Motors, Gillette, and Procterand Gamble. (14)

Al-Jazeera's continued dependence on Qatar's financial backing has blurred the line between its status as a private or public news organization. Al-Jazeera has demonstrated characteristics ofboth a privatized and a state-run news network, as Qatar exerts little editorial control over day-to-daynews reporting while subsidizing Al-Jazeera's annual budget. Although Al-Jazeera may subtlypromote Qatar's political outlook, it does so under the umbrella of a regional news provider, makingit appear less tied to any one Arab government. Nevertheless, Al-Jazeera's executives have promotedtheir channel's independent image, which raises the following questions: As Al-Jazeera remains inan ambiguous position regarding its private or public status, will some analysts start to overlook thatstatus and treat Al-Jazeera as just another state-run media outlet, albeit one more sophisticated andpopular than the rest? Or, will Al-Jazeera secure the necessary advertising revenue to cover costs,perhaps leading to a looser arrangement with the Qatari government?

Although Al-Jazeera has drawn praise for its willingness to discuss aspects of Arab politics previously considered off limits in Arab discourse, (15) critics continue to point out that Al-Jazeera doesnot treat Qatar with the same degree of scrutiny as it does other Arab governments. Al-Jazeeraexecutives have countered that Qatar is relatively free of political strife and therefore does notrequire much attention. However, according to the Asian Times , "it (Al-Jazeera) soft-peddles itsdomestic critique. Al-Jazeera has been dogged in its coverage of financial and political deals cutbetween Arab governments and Israel, but when allegations came out that Qatar had opened a tradeoffice in Tel Aviv, the station did not go after the story." (16) Other commentators have asked why thestation has not fully explored Qatar's friendly relationship with the U.S. military. AlthoughAl-Jazeera's website did cover a December 2002 U.S. war game in Qatar, dubbed "OperationInternal Look," there have been few attempts to examine the U.S. military presence in Qatar.

Issues of Concern for U.S. Foreign Policy

Iraq

Al-Jazeera's coverage of Iraq has drawn both praise and criticism. Al-Jazeera's first foray into the Iraq-U.S. confrontation came in 1998, when Iraq and the United States were in a standoff overthe removal of U.N. weapons inspectors from Iraq. Al-Jazeera outmaneuvered other networks, mostnotably CNN, by having correspondents in Iraq once the United States and Britain launched air andmissile strikes as part of Operation Desert Fox. Al-Jazeera also obtained an exclusive interview withSaddam Hussein, who reportedly wanted to deal with a station that could reach a wide Arabaudience. Some observers have contended that Al-Jazeera's popularity and credibility in the MiddleEast was established at that time. On the other hand, Al-Jazeera's detractors accused the network ofportraying Iraq as a victim during the standoff, focusing more on the detrimental effects of economicsanctions than on Saddam Hussein's disregard of United Nations' resolutions.

Al-Jazeera's coverage of the 2003 war in Iraq has become a story within the wider story of the war. Following previous patterns, Al-Jazeera has been recognized for its access inside Iraq, (17) whilebeing criticized for being sensationalistic and slanted in its coverage of the U.S. military operation.Some observers have praised Al-Jazeera for keeping several reporters and camera crews on theground in Baghdad, Mosul, and Basra and delivering live feeds of wartime footage, to which severalU.S. news networks, including CNN, have access through partnership agreements. (18) According to BusinessWeek , during the Iraq war, Al-Jazeera had more reporters in Iraq than any other major newsstation. (19)

Al-Jazeera also is one of the few stations that has aired press briefings from Iraqi officials, as well as video footage whose authenticity has been disputed of Saddam Hussein in meetings withother senior Iraqi leaders. Several U.S. officials and independent analysts have appeared on thestation to give commentary on the U.S. war effort. Prior to the start of the war, the Pentagon grantedAl-Jazeera four "embedded" slots with the U.S. military. However, most of Al-Jazeera's reporterson the ground have remained independent of the U.S. military. According to Georgetown UniversityProfessor Samer Shehata, "the war coverage on Al-Jazeera compares favorably with the warcoverage on American networks ... they have a perspective. It's from a perspective of what the waris like for the Iraqi people ... but I've never seen anything favorable to the Iraqi regime onAl-Jazeera." (20)

Negative reaction to Al-Jazeera's coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom has come from many fronts. U.S. Administration officials, Members of Congress, and some independent analysts wereangered that U.S. prisoners of war and several dead U.S. soldiers were displayed on Iraqi TV andon an Al-Jazeera broadcast in late March 2003. U.S. officials accused Al-Jazeera of providing avehicle for Iraqi propaganda and for actions that violated international rules on handling of prisonersof war. In testimony before the House Armed Service Committee on April 4, 2003, W. Hays Parks,special assistant to the Judge Advocate General of the Army, stated that "Iraqi Television andal-Jazeera have aired a tape of U.S. soldiers answering questions in humiliating and insultingcircumstances designed to make them objects of public curiosity, in violation of the GPW (1949Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Prisoners of War)." (21)

Others have pointed to the overall tone of Al-Jazeera's broadcasts, labeling them inflammatory, emotional, and slanted toward covering the suffering of the Iraqi people, rather than Iraqiscelebrating the demise of the Hussein regime. In one broadcast from a Baghdad hospital wherewounded children were shown, an Al-Jazeera correspondent commented with distress that "they saidit would be a clean war, they said they wouldn't hit civilians, they said they wouldn't hitinfrastructure, they said, and said, and said." (22) Inaddition, Al-Jazeera has come under fire for itschoice of terminology, which many commentators have suggested is heavily weighed against theUnited States. For example, coalition troops are sometimes called "invading forces"and suicideattacks are called "martyrdom operations," terms that Arab governments and the Arab media oftenuse to describe the Israeli army and Palestinians.

In the United States, the New York Stock Exchange revoked the credentials of Al-Jazeera, saying its credentials were only for news that provided "responsible" coverage. (23) In addition,Akamai Technologies, an Internet Developer based in Cambridge, MA, cancelled a contract toprovide web services for Al-Jazeera's new English language website. On the other hand, Iraqiofficials demanded that several Al-Jazeera correspondents leave Iraq, accusing the station of beingan extension of U.S. propaganda after Al-Jazeera broadcasted images of Iraqis trampling on picturesof Saddam Hussein. In response, Al-Jazeera suspended coverage by its correspondents in northernand southern Iraq.

Nevertheless, Al-Jazeera reportedly has substantially increased its subscriber base since the start of the war and has received much media attention. An Al-Jazeera correspondent, Tariq Ayoub, waskilled in Iraq after U.S. missiles struck a hotel in downtown Baghdad. The hotel has been a base forforeign reporters. Al-Jazeera accused the United States of deliberately targeting its journalists, anaccusation the United States denied vehemently. During the war in Afghanistan in 2001,Al-Jazeera's Kabul office was accidently struck by U.S. fire. Despite Ayoub's death, a recent articlein The NewYorker noted a marked improvement in relations between Al-Jazeera and the U.S.military. According to Al-Jazeera producer and reporter Omar al-Issawi, "slowly, people atCENTCOM are starting to realize that we're not the enemy ... we're not some insensitive monsterbent on bashing America." (24)

In postwar Iraq, Al-Jazeera has continued to slant its coverage against the United States, labeling Iraqi attacks against U.S. forces as "resistance" to the "occupation." (25) Although many ofAl-Jazeera's reports from Iraq are factual accounts of the latest events, reports are often followed bycritical statements of local Iraqis without providing the perspective of coalition forces. Al-Jazeera'sIraq coverage is often introduced by a short series of images, depicting U.S. soldiers in a negativelight.

Afghanistan & The War on Terrorism

Although Al-Jazeera's coverage of Operation Desert Fox brought the station much notoriety in 1998, it was its proximity to Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda terrorist organization thatbrought the news network into the global mainstream. When the United States began OperationEnduring Freedom in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, Al-Jazeera was the only major news networkwith a field office in Kabul. As was the case in Iraq, many observers were impressed with thestation's ability to "get the scoop," as western networks were forced to rebroadcast Al-Jazeeratransmissions with their now identifiable gold logo in the corner of the screen.

However, Al-Jazeera's considerable access to the Taliban and Al Qaeda also brought it a high degree of scrutiny from western governments, particularly after it aired taped speeches of Osama BinLaden. Al-Jazeera had been airing taped interviews and footage of Osama Bin Laden since 1998, aspart of its regular coverage of the region. (26) However, after the attacks of September 11, 2001 andAl-Jazeera's airing of a Bin Laden tape only hours after the start of Operation Enduring Freedom,some western media outlets began to accuse Al-Jazeera of being a mouthpiece for Al Qaeda; (27) otherobservers even accused the station of collaborating with Al Qaeda.

Bush Administration officials were displeased with the station's decision to air the tapes, as Secretary of State Colin Powell criticized Al-Jazeera for carrying "fierce" and "irresponsible"statements from Osama Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda spokesmen. (28) Other officials, includingNational Security Director, Condoleezza Rice, held meetings with the major U.S. news networks toformulate a common policy toward future broadcasts of any new Bin Laden tape. Al-Jazeera staffersand others criticized the U.S. government for trying to censor free speech. U.S. officials respondedby asserting that the broadcasting of Bin Laden's tapes could pose a threat to national security andsuggesting that his speeches might contain hidden messages to followers around the world.

Since the initial controversy over the Bin Laden tapes, there have been a number of reports as to why Al Qaeda chose Al-Jazeera as a conduit for its messages. Many analysts believe that AlQaeda was attracted to Al-Jazeera's large Arabic-speaking audience. Observers also speculated thatAl-Jazeera, eager to make headlines and without rigorous governmental scrutiny, was in a positionto broadcast the Bin Laden tapes, as opposed to the more cautious Arab state media. Some analystsconsidered that Al Qaeda would have found Al-Jazeera to be sympathetic to its cause based on thenetwork's past coverage of Iraq in 1998. One theory explaining the Al-Jazeera - Bin Ladenconnection comes from Al-Jazeera's London Bureau Chief, Yosri Fouda, who interviewed two ofAl Qaeda's top leaders, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi bin Al-Sheeba (both are now in U.S.custody). Fouda had been chosen by Al Qaeda's leaders to tell their story. According to Fouda:

I asked them [Al Qaeda], first of all, why me? And they said that there are other journalists both inside and outside of Al-Jazeera who are thought of ashaving some sort of degree of sympathy with their cause. So for that very reason, they said theywanted to have this story done by someone "more secular in his professional approach"so that theirmessage would carry more credibility ... it confirmed my initial impression that there is someonewho understands media, and particularly television, inside Al Qaeda." (29)

Al Qaeda may have been looking for an outlet like Al-Jazeera, knowing that the station was eager to break a big story and would be willing to present their point of view without editorializing itscontent. In a New York Times Magazine feature on Fouda, author Peter Maass noted that "Fouda isa chameleon ... he mixes easily at both mosques and pubs. He is, in this way, an excellent journalist,because he can pretend to be all things to all people, including a friend to terrorists." (30)

Some commentators have pointed out that Al-Jazeera's coverage of U.S. operations in Afghanistan in 2001 was similar in focus to its coverage of Iraq a year and a half later. Again, criticshave noted that the station aired Taliban claims of military successes on the battlefield with little orno response from U.S. officials. Al-Jazeera also was criticized as placing virtually exclusiveemphasis on the plight of Afghan civilians and the destruction caused by American bombing, airinggruesome images of wounded Afghan women and children. Whereas in U.S. government parlance,the war in Afghanistan was part of a larger "war on terrorism," Al-Jazeera's method for describingthe war came with the preface of "the war on what it calls terror." (31) Analysts further criticizedAl-Jazeera's alleged overemphasis on covering civil liberties violations of American Muslims,asserting that such violations were the acts of individuals and contrary to U.S. policy.

Al-Jazeera and The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

As one of the most politically divisive conflicts in the world, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a source of contention for the world's media, challenging the objectivity of western andnon-western media outlets alike. Within this context, many observers believe that Al-Jazeera is nodifferent. Like other Arab networks and newspapers, it has covered the conflict from a distinctlyArab perspective. According to one Al-Jazeera correspondent based in the West Bank, "to beobjective in this area is not easy because we live here. We are part of the people of here. And thissituation belongs to us also, and we have our opinions." (32)

In contrast to state-controlled Arab media, Al-Jazeera has taken the controversial step of broadcasting interviews with and statements by Israeli officials, a practice shunned by many Arabchannels. Al-Jazeera has invited Israeli leaders such as Shimon Peres and Ehud Barak on air for TVinterviews. Israel also has sent officials, some of whom are fluent in Arabic, from its ForeignMinistry to appear on Al-Jazeera. Indeed, some Arab governments, newspapers, and even Palestinianhard-liners have accused Al-Jazeera of being in league with Israel and acting as an extension ofIsraeli intelligence. Al-Jazeera has noted that Arab governments tend to vocalize accusations ofAl-Jazeera's collaboration with Israel during times of tension between the station and foreign Arabgovernments. (33)

Despite the novelty of Israeli officials on Arab television, some analysts have pointed out that, in covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Al-Jazeera follows a similar approach to its coverage ofthe war in Iraq and the war on terrorism in Afghanistan: it uses vivid, violent montages of Palestiniansuffering to introduce news segments; it employs language which describes suicide bombings as"martyrdom operations;" and it calls the Israeli army an "occupation force." This approach hascaused some experts to suggest that Al-Jazeera's personalization of the news, in which it emphasizesArab and Muslim victimization, is a template which has been applied in its coverage of Iraq,Afghanistan, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mamoun Fandy, a Middle East expert and mediaanalyst, asserted that in one Al-Jazeera anchor's description of the U.S. capture of the Baghdadairport during the recent Iraq war, the anchor mistakenly replaced the United States with the wordIsrael. According to Fandy, "you take the Americans, put the Israelis; you take the Palestinians, putthe Iraqis; and the same script goes on." (34)

Al-Jazeera's detractors also have accused it of propagating anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli viewpoints, in an attempt to sensationalize its programming and boost its ratings. In the fall of 2002,David Duke, a former leader of the Klu Klux Klan, appeared on the Al-Jazeera talk show "WithoutBorders," claiming that Israeli intelligence knew in advance that the World Trade Center was aboutto be destroyed and that it had warned Israelis to evacuate the towers before they were hit. (35) Dukemade the same argument in a Palestinian paper in January 2002. Al-Jazeera also has been attackedfor broadcasting a talk show with the title "Is Zionism Worse Than Nazism?," in addition to hostinga call-in show which discussed the validity of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion . Both shows didpresent different viewpoints unlike other Arab media outlets; however, some observers claim thatthe anti-Semitic viewpoint was given an unfair amount of attention.

Supporters of Al-Jazeera believe that the station's coverage is not biased, but merely reflects a different perspective of the conflict, in which Palestinians are locked into a war of independencewith the Israeli military. According to Al-Jazeera's Washington Bureau Chief, Hafez Al-Mirazi,"The first Palestinian Intifada ( uprising) was covered by CNN, which directed its coverage to aWestern public, and ended up de-humanizing the Palestinian struggle and cause. But because of ourcoverage, and that of other Arab satellite television channels, the second Intifada influenced Arabpublic opinion more." (36) Al-Jazeera also has drawnpraise for its strong presence in the West Bankand Gaza Strip, as the station has been able to broadcast real-time coverage of Israeli-Palestinianviolence. Although the images of Al-Jazeera broadcasts are often disturbing and beyond the normsfound on U.S. television, proponents of Al-Jazeera claim that they present a more realistic pictureof the day-to-day hardships of life in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the present conflict. Othercommentators have noted that even the Palestinian Authority, like other Arab governments, hastemporarily shutdown Al-Jazeera's Ramallah office when it disapproved of its broadcasts. (37)

Al-Jazeera & The Arab Media

Although Al-Jazeera has received much attention for its coverage of the war in Iraq, someobservers suggest that, despite its popularity, it should not be treated as a barometer for measuringthe Arab media as a whole. Currently, there are other television stations, like the new 24-hour newsnetwork Al-Arabiya, and many pan-Arab newspapers, some of which are published in westerncapitals, which reach a wide audience on a daily basis. According to media analyst David Hoffman,"most Americans have heard of only Al-Jazeera," (38) but in reality, Arabs get their news from a varietyof sources, many of which are "far worse" than Al-Jazeera. Indeed, in November 2002, an Egyptiantelevision station, which is partially government-owned, broadcast a series entitled "HorsemanWithout a Horse." The story was a chronicle of the Arab struggle against colonial rule and againstthe establishment of the state of Israel; however, it included a sub-plot involving a forged document- the Protocols of the Elders of Zion - describing an alleged Jewish plot for world domination, whichwas used by the Nazis as a pretext for the Holocaust. (39)

Al-Jazeera's impact on the Middle Eastern media as a whole remains unclear. Some variety satellite networks have slightly altered their formats to include more debate-style talk shows. Aspreviously mentioned, a new competitor news network, Al-Arabiya, has started operating in Dubai'smedia city in the United Arab Emirates. Al-Arabiya reportedly has received a great deal of financialbacking from more conservative sources, which may be reflected in its reporting style. Arab Mediawatchers have observed that, as popular as Al-Jazeera has become, many viewers still desire localnews coverage, making Al-Jazeera only one of several news sources for the average viewer in theMiddle East. (40) Some suggest that Al-Jazeera,because of its high subscription cost, is equally aspopular outside of the Middle East as within. In the United States, subscribers can order Al-Jazeerathrough satellite dish companies, which package Al-Jazeera with several other channels at a priceof several hundred dollars a year.

Policy Options for Congress

Al-Jazeera's ability to cover breaking news, to promote its slick, entertaining format, and toproject subtly its pan-Arab, pan-Islamist approach to covering the news has sparked some U.S.officials and analysts to suggest ways of promoting a response to its distinctive influence. Othershave dismissed calls for policy responses. Some experts warn that any overt U.S. action could beviewed as heavy handed in a region which has traditionally been sensitive to outside involvementin regional or local affairs. Al-Jazeera claims that U.S. steps intended to promote a more balancedmedia in the Arab world will backfire, because Arabs will consider it a propaganda effort of the U.S.government. A range of possible actions has been proposed. In one category are actions that activelypromote U.S. policy. They include:

Create an alternative Arabic Language Television Network . In the emergency supplemental appropriations bill of April 16, 2003 ( P.L. 108-11 ), Congress designated $30.5 millionfor the Middle East Television Network (METN). (41) According to Norman Pattiz, the founder andchairman of Westwood One Radio Network and a member of the U.S. Broadcasting Board ofGovernors (BBG), "as most people in the region get their news and information from TV, we needto be on TV so we can explain America and its policies, its people, and its culture from our own lipsrather than have it described by the indigenous media." (42) The exact scope and style of METN hasyet to be determined. The BBG already sponsors Radio Sawa, an Arabic radio station, whichcombines popular music with news headlines.

Tie foreign aid to media reform . Some analysts contend that this technique, which has worked for some human rights cases, might be applied to the media as well.

Buy commercial air time on Arab networks . During the last two years, the State Department Office of Public Diplomacy has been implementing the "Shared Values Program," a $15million effort to promote positive images of Muslim life in America. TV advertisements depictingAmerican Muslims ran for 5 weeks in late 2003 in Pakistan, Kuwait, Malaysia, and on somepan-Arab channels, but not Al-Jazeera. (43) Althoughthe overall campaign continues, the StateDepartment stopped running the commercials after the governments of Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanonrefused to carry them on state-run television.

Other policy experts have suggested more indirect ways of influencing the Arab media, including the following actions:

Have U.S. officials engage the Arab media more actively . As previously mentioned, top United States cabinet officials have appeared on Al-Jazeera television for interviews.Proponents of this strategy believe that more appearances by U.S. officials, particularly those fluentin Arabic, would convey confidence in U.S. foreign policy. Skeptics of this strategy believe thatAl-Jazeera and other channels could skew the pre and post-interview analysis against the U.S.position.

Favor the more moderate Arab satellite networks . With almost a dozen different Arab satellite channels, some analysts believe that U.S. interests would be better served ifU.S. officials appeared on less sensationalist Arab networks in order to foster competitors toAl-Jazeera. Some even suggest encouraging U.S. companies to advertise on these types of stations.

Encourage more privatization of media . Under the auspices of the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), there have been plans to fund media reformprograms in some Arab states. As MEPI is just starting to take shape, the initiative could fund mediatraining for aspiring journalists, as well as programs that promote freedom of thepress. (44)

One argument, which is widely circulated in Arab intellectual circles, is that the best way to combat the coverage of channels such as Al-Jazeera would be to focus U.S. foreign policy on solvingthe Arab-Israeli conflict. Others argue that biased coverage will continue no matter what directionthe United States takes its policy in the Middle East. With the United States heavily engaged in Iraq,Afghanistan, and elsewhere, Al-Jazeera will continue to play a role in reporting and interpreting U.S.foreign policy to the Arab world.