Bush Vs. Al-Jazeera

It seems the powers that be are finding the internet, especially internet journalism and blogging, to be an increasingly sharp thorn in their side. This is evidenced by the growing scandal over a memo that purportedly contains evidence showing that President Bush wanted to bomb Al-Jazeera's headquarters in Qatar. The memo refers to a conversation the President may have had with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in which he expressed a desire to bomb the aforementioned news outlet. The memo indicates that the prime minister didn't think that was such a good idea and talked Bush out of it.

The memo was leaked by a man who has since been arrested for violating the Official Secrets Act. Prime Minister Blair further threatened to jail any editor daring enough to publish the memo. Since then, there has been a flood of bloggers and online journalists who have agreed to publish the memo and report on the story regardless of the legal consequences that may follow. This used to be the sort of thing politicians could exercise a large amount of control over by manipulating the mainstream media. Not anymore.

Regardless of whether or not you believe the story surrounding the memo, both the British and American governments reactions to it are shady. If there was nothing to hide, why the heavy handed, threatening gag order on the British side? If the goal is to protect one's image and political standing, which is almost always true in politics, wouldn't it be easier and less damaging to simply prove that the memo was baseless rather than to further incriminate oneself by threatening to imprison anyone who published it? But that's just the beginning.

What's really puzzling is why all the Al-Jazeera hating is going on in the first place. It's clear that the administration despises the news agency and the American media has done a great job painting them as the mouthpiece of terrorism. Anyone familiar with the company and its news coverage can see the lies here. If you're only contact with Al-Jazeera has been the demonizing influence of the American media, I would recommend visiting their site, as well as reading this article written by the Director General himself.

This is another good article from a third party source about the history and influence of the company over the last several years. Not doubt Al-Jazeera is difficult to read for many Americans. The bulk of their reporting is about things most people never hear about and refuse to believe. There are probably some exaggerations, errors in reporting and even false claims, but no more than can be expected with any major media outlet. At the very least it will give you a more well rounded view of what is going on in the Middle East than American sources alone.

Not only has there been a propaganda war against Al-Jazeera, but both their Afghanistan and Iraq offices were bombed into oblivion by American forces, with some of their correspondents being killed in the process. The military claims that these incidents were accidental, but in the case of their Iraq offices, they had given the military the exact coordinates of their location and received an assurance that they would not be bombed. Robert Fisk, who is one of Britain’s most highly decorated foreign correspondents, was there when the bombing occurred and gives his account here.

The official story about these bombings doesn't hold much water. Especially when our military claims to possess precision guided weaponry that helps avoid "collateral damage," and yet they couldn't avoid hitting a building they had the exact coordinates for and had been specifically instructed not to hit. Instead they destroyed that very building with no other plausible target in the area. Accident? I don't think so. Aside from the bombings, Al-Jazeera correspondents have been harassed, arrested and recruited to become spies against the company. Some are still in custody years later with no charges having been filed.

But why is King George so concerned with AL-Jazeera anyways? Well, that's simple really. If you start an unjust war based on false pretenses, claiming that it will be short and cause minimal casualties, and tell people that it is being waged for the good of those you invade, you can't very well have uncooperative reporters on the front lines broadcasting a steady stream of bloody images and video, and revealing to the world the lies and horrors of war you are so carefully trying to hide. Instead you must silence them, arrest them, detain them indefinitely, kill them and blow up their offices. If the story contained in the memo is true, would it be such a surprise?

One more thing is worth noting. One of the main charges constantly leveled against Al-Jazeera by Western regimes is their support for and connections to Al Qaeda. So far this has been a bunch of unsubstantiated hot air, but there's a deeper aspect to it than that. We don't even know that Al Qaeda really exists in anything like the form that has been described to us by our masters. In fact, there is substantial evidence to suggest that it is more contrived than real. It is conceivable that rather than being a global, highly organized terrorist force bent on "destroying our freedoms," it is the product of deliberately grouping vague and unrelated cells together, giving them a name and a face that centralizes them all in the minds of the masses, and then using them as the poster children for a new world war.

This isn't just me blowing smoke. I've listed some interesting articles on the subject below for those who want to research more about it. Also, I'm not trying to cheerlead for Al-Jazeera here or say that they have no flaws. Any company financed by the government of Qatar is going to have its fair share of problems. But they are not the monster they have been made out to be and I've found their work to be a good break from the relentless, patriotic propaganda that pours out of my American T.V.

The Power of Nightmares

Does Al-Qaeda exist?

Al Zarqawi Myth

Debunking The Al Qaeda Myth

The Myth of Al Qaeda

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Russian Intelligence Chief Says Al-Qaeda a Myth