Link hoping led me to Aj-Jazeera and Bush's apparent hatred for them is fascinating

Last edited Wed Dec 24, 2014, 03:46 PM - Edit history (2)

First I came across as this

Al-Jazeera Kabul offices hit in US raid

The Kabul offices of the Arab satellite al-Jazeera channel have been destroyed by a US missile.

The Qatar-based satellite channel, which gained global fame for its exclusive access to Osama Bin Laden and the Taleban, announced that none of its staff had been wounded.

But al-Jazeera's managing director Mohammed Jasim al-Ali, told BBC News Online that the channel's 12 employees in Kabul were out of contact.

Mr Jasim would not speculate as to whether the offices were deliberately targeted, but said the location of the bureau was widely known by everyone, including the Americans.

He also expressed concern at reports that Northern Alliance fighters were singling out Arabs in the city since they took over early on Tuesday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1653887.stmf

Al-Jazeera 'hit by missile'

A US missile has hit the Baghdad offices of Arab news service al-Jazeera television, killing one member of staff and wounding another, the station reported on Tuesday.

Al-Jazeera's Baghdad correspondent Maher Abdullah said the missile strike destroyed an electricity generator and set fire to the office.

But a US Central Command spokesman told BBC News Online the station "was not and never had been a target", although US military officials were looking into the incident.

The Qatar-based network - dubbed the 'Arab CNN' - has come under intense criticism in London, Washington and Baghdad with its no-holds-barred coverage of the war in Iraq.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2927527.stm

(This is actually from Fox News which for a Republican propaganda arm gives a favorable account for Al-Jazeera, which the Republican party seemed to hate)

"I'm astonished and shocked," said Art Bourbon, news director of Abu Dhabi, speaking from the network's headquarters in the United Arab Emirates. "We've been in this office for more than 2 years. Anyone going into military operations would have known our location."

Early Wednesday, the network announced that it had been unable to broadcast live video from Baghdad overnight, saying American tanks were posted outside its offices. Its live shots are often used by television networks, including those in the United States. Al-Jazeera, whose offices are alongside Abu Dhabi television, also did not broadcast live scenes of Baghdad overnight.

On Tuesday, Al-Jazeera chief editor Ibrahim Hilal said the U.S. military has long known the map coordinates and street number of his network's office. Witnesses "saw the plane fly over twice before dropping the bombs. Our office is in a residential area, and even the Pentagon knows its location," Hilal said in Qatar.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2003/04/08/us-bombing-raid-kills-three-journalists-in-baghdad/

Under Pressure(from Bush), Qatar May Sell Jazeera Station

ASHINGTON - 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.

"We have recently added new members to the Al Jazeera editorial board, and one of their tasks is to explore the best way to sell it," said the Qatari official, who said he could be more candid about the situation if he was not identified. "We really have a headache, not just from the United States but from advertisers and from other countries as well." Asked if the sale might dilute Al Jazeera's content, the official said, "I hope not."

Estimates of Al Jazeera's audience range from 30 million to 50 million, putting it well ahead of its competitors. But that success does not translate into profitability, and the station relies on a big subsidy from the Qatari government, which in the past has explored ways to sell it. The official said Qatar hoped to find a buyer within a year.

Its coverage has disturbed not only Washington, but also Arab governments from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. With such a big audience, but a lack of profitability, it is not clear who might be in the pool of potential buyers, or how a new owner might change the editorial content.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/international/middleeast/30jazeera.html?ex=1264827600&en=6552cd8e38f1d047&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&_r=0

It seems they were angering the right the people.

U.K. charges official over leaking Blair Memo

LONDON — A civil servant has been charged under Britain’s Official Secrets Act for allegedly leaking a government memo that a newspaper said Tuesday suggested that Prime Minister Tony Blair persuaded President Bush not to bomb the Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera.

The Daily Mirror reported that Bush spoke of targeting Al-Jazeera’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar, when he met Blair at the White House on April 16, 2004. The Bush administration has regularly accused Al-Jazeera of being nothing more than a mouthpiece for anti-American sentiments.

The Daily Mirror attributed its information to unidentified sources. One source, said to be in the government, was quoted as saying that the alleged threat was “humorous, not serious,” but the newspaper quoted another source as saying that “Bush was deadly serious, as was Blair.”

“We are not interested in dignifying something so outlandish and inconceivable with a response,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan told The Associated Press in an e-mail.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10153489/#.VJsIASsAA

Some more on that one

MPs leaked Bush plan to hit al-Jazeera

Two Labour MPs have defied the Official Secrets Act by passing on the contents of a secret British document revealing how President George Bush wanted to bomb the Arabic TV station, al-Jazeera.

The document, a transcript of a meeting between Mr Bush and Tony Blair in April 2004 when the prime minister expressed concern about US military tactics in Iraq, is already the subject of an unprecedented official secrets prosecution in Britain, against an aide to one of the MPs and another man.

David Keogh, a Cabinet Office employee, is charged with leaking information damaging to international relations to Leo O'Connor, researcher to Tony Clarke, former MP for Northampton South. The two are due to appear in court tomorrow for committal hearings.

<snip>

Mr Latham said he had never met Mr Clarke before. He added: "He mentioned that the document was a transcript of a meeting in Washington DC between Bush and Blair. There had been a proposal to take military action against al-Jazeera at their headquarters in Qatar. This was defused by Colin Powell, US secretary of state, and Tony Blair."

<snip>

Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general, unsuccessfully threatened other newspapers with the Official Secrets Act if they re-published the contents of the document.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jan/09/Iraqandthemedia.politicsandiraq

I don't know if this is a vacant forum or not but I was afraid of posting in GD for wasting space or a "why are talking about it now?" and things have a tendency to interest me that don't interest other people but this was something that wasn't that widely known to me and I doubt it was for most people. But the RW made sure to remind (especially when Democrats online were posting their opposition to the war). I remember at the same time--March 2003, America was introduced to Aj-Jazeera and it was widely laughed at or perceived (if I remember correctly--the US media presented it as such) as obviously phony news organization biased in favor of terrorists or whoever it was they thought the enemy was, the Arabic name of the organization was probably the only proof they needed.

The notable thing about Aj-Jazeera it has won praise for press freedom & anti-censorship which is remarkable for a state backed news organization and Bush obviously saw their reporting as a threat.