Under Pressure, Qatar May Sell Jazeera Station

[Rose Siding]

The tiny state of Qatar is a crucial American ally in the Persian Gulf, where it provides a military base and warm support for American policies. Yet relations with Qatar are also strained over an awkward issue: Qatar's sponsorship of Al Jazeera, the provocative television station that is a big source of news in the Arab world.

Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and other Bush administration officials have complained heatedly to Qatari leaders that Al Jazeera's broadcasts have been inflammatory, misleading and occasionally false, especially on Iraq.

The pressure has been so intense, a senior Qatari official said, that the government is accelerating plans to put Al Jazeera on the market, though Bush administration officials counter that a privately owned station in the region may be no better from their point of view.
...
Administration officials have been nervous to talk about the station, being sensitive to charges that they are trying to suppress free expression. Officials at the State and Defense Departments and at the embassy in Qatar were reluctant to comment. However, some administration officials acknowledged that the well-publicized American pressure on the station - highlighted when Qatar was not invited to a summit meeting on the future of democracy in the Middle East last summer in Georgia - has drawn charges of hypocrisy, especially in light of President Bush's repeated calls for greater freedoms and democracy in the region.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/international/middleeast/30jazeera.html?hp&ex=1107061200&en=55ef445f05053c5d&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[CatholicEdHead]

1. You would think open market is a good thing

BushCo has lots of rich groups who would love to then buy up Al Jazerra up and reprogram it to the Faux News of the Middle East.

[dkofos]

2. The should tell the bushies to fuck off

:mad: :mad:

[twaddler01]

3. Maybe Al Jazeera is more accurate...

"Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and other Bush administration officials have complained heatedly to Qatari leaders that Al Jazeera's broadcasts have been inflammatory, misleading and occasionally false, especially on Iraq."

Perhaps them reporting the truth hurts the Bushies?

Just a thought...

[rzemanfl]

4. If they sell the thing Bin Laden will have to get his tapes out as

rentals at Blockbuster.

[TexasLawyer]

5. We're out there spreading that freedom...

except for freedom of speech.

Al Jazeera's main "crime" is that they publish photos that show the horrifying collateral damage that U.S. bombs have caused. The U.S. wants to keep the Iraq war sanitized. Not only is no gore allowed, but even returning caskets cannot be photographed.

[MADem]

6. The fucking neo-cons may regret this

You know those sayings--be careful what you wish for? Keep your friends close, your enemies closer? Talk about a total miscommunication; a complete inability to understand the Arab culture. If forced, they'll sell the damn thing, probably to a mysterious conglomerate calling itself the OMAN BROADCASTING LEAGUE.

Then, when OBL goes on the air for the first time, it will be ALL OBL, all the time.

You know some See Eye Eh front group will be the first to the block with a bid, but one should never underestimate the sophistication of the leadership in Oman and elsewhere in the Arab world--they'll have to pay through the nose, and if it smells funny, the people will change the channel to Al Arabiya.

These guys are raised in a total hardball environment...by contrast, we are soft little shits who don't understand politics from the barrel of a gun.

[no_to_war_economy]

7. Al Jazeera's is credible, that is

why they kicked them out of Iraq - that is not good enough because they still broadcast the truth on this BOGUS election

now they want them out of business

[madrchsod]

8. i`ll bet ten dollars the chinese will fund

someone to buy the station... while bush pisses away our country, china is building it`s corporate empire with our money....

[leftofcool]

9. I bet ya a dollar to a donut

that yer right.............or the Russians will.

Left of Cool

[old blue]

10. I highly recommend the documentary "Control Room," produced by Al Jazeera

Eye-opening and provocative look at the media propaganda campaign in Iraq. The Al Jazeera personnel appearing in this film are well-educated, thoughtful, and convincing. Certainly not the haters of freedom Dubya would have you believe.

And we're trying to crush them.

[htuttle]

11. You know what the difference between CNN and Al Jazeera is?

CNN shows the missiles taking off.
Al Jazeera shows the missiles landing.


(I didn't come up with that myself, but I don't recall where I read it)

[ckramer]

13. A good one!

[IndianaGreen]

12. Rupert Murdoch will buy Al Jazeera

and replace the Al Jazeera anchors with dumb blondes.