Qatar and Al Jazeera
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that the United States experienced the same “problems” with Qatar a decade ago that its Gulf neighbors are going through now…
“Even a decade ago, we had problems with what they were putting on Al Jazeera — they were giving an opportunity for those we were fighting in Iraq to propagandize over Al Jazeera, they would publicize American soldiers being killed, there was a problem with terrorist funding,” he said.
Read more at CNBC
Meanwhile, Qatar is growing closer to Iran, beyond the positive media coverage it gives that nation through the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera network, and has been establishing energy, trade and security ties with a country whose officials frequently espouse the destruction of Israel.
Read more at the Jerusalem Post
Because Al Jazeera Arabic overtly promoted Doha’s foreign policy objectives, the network was controversial and disliked by virtually every other government in the region. The Arabic station introduced a freewheeling reporting style — except for avoiding any criticism of Qatar — that transfixed Arab audiences with previously unheard-of debates.
Impartial it was not: A hefty dose of old-fashioned Arab nationalism and a strong bias for the Muslim Brotherhood, which was supported by the Qatari government, were unmistakable. This ideological orientation led to exaggerated accusations in the United States, especially in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, that Al Jazeera served as a media affiliate of Al Qaeda.
Read more at The New York Times
Because Al Jazeera Arabic overtly promoted Doha’s foreign policy objectives, the network was controversial and disliked by virtually every other government in the region. The Arabic station introduced a freewheeling reporting style — except for avoiding any criticism of Qatar — that transfixed Arab audiences with previously unheard-of debates.
Read more at The New York Times