US accused of plan to muzzle al-Jazeera through privatisation

[Tsiyu]

Independent:

By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
15 February 2005


America and its key ally Saudi Arabia are being accused of quietly seeking to muzzle al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite news station that has often incurred Washington's ire for its coverage of Iraq and President George Bush's "war on terror".

According to reports in the US and the Gulf, the Qatari government, owner of al-Jazeera since its foundation in 1996, has ordered privatisation plans for the station to be speeded up. Many al-Jazeera employees fear this could lead to a loss of editorial freedom. A set of proposals is already said to have been presented to al-Jazeera's board of directors.

US officials reject all charges of meddling. Nonetheless, such suspicions are inevitable. Senior US officials, among them the Vice-President Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, have fiercely criticised al-Jazeera for what they say is biased and inflammatory reporting.

Washington has been particularly irritated by the station's coverage of civilian casualties and destruction caused by US troops in Iraq, and by its airing of messages from Osama bin Laden, the al-Qa'ida leader. In Iraq and some other Arab countries, al-Jazeera offices have been shut down.

more:

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=611218

[IndianaGreen]

1. Rupert Murdoch will buy Al-Jazeera

and the Arab masses will get their daily doses of brainless blond anchors, Jesus Saves devotions, and American propaganda.

[chicagojoe]

2. How could al-Jazeera be any more inflammatory

than FoxNews, home of the pathetic Shawna Hannity?

[LynnTheDem]

3. Gee...the WH liked al-J when the WH were doing interviews with al-J.

Then the evil nasty al-J turned on the US by reporting facts and reality about the people of Iraq being killed by the US.

How DARE they!!!

:eyes:

[dbt]

4. So much irony, so little time!

In the early hours of Der Schock Und Awe, al-Jazeera's website was the only place one could find anything approaching accurate information about battles and troop movements. All we got in Murka was waving flags and snappy graphics.

Then, one must note how this story comes from a British newspaper. (Head. Exploding. Must. Wrap. In. Duct. Tape.)

:freak:
dbt

[EFerrari]

5. Lovely. So, just shooting their reporters didn't send the message?

Sorry, everybody. We tried really hard. :(

[UL_Approved]

6. They need SOME collateral insurance

After all, Iraq went to the Kurds and the Shi'ite majority. The U.S. needs SOME form of control over the region...