UPDATED - ColdType

eral Wesley Clark, former supreme allied commander
in Europe, NATO commander for the
Kosovo campaign, with all his we did this or that
today‚ on I-forget-which-channel sounded distinctly
like he was actively engaged in fighting
this war as well.
“Of the channels I watched today, most riveted
on American casualties and prisoners (and
whether or not, or how, or when to show pictures
of POWs or dead Americans) – only PBS showed
significant footage of Iraqi casualties. Given all
those Washington officials, active generals,
retired generals, former officials, and anchors
and journalists used to negotiating such heady
crowds, American television tends to chew over
mainly issues of concern to the Bush administration
and the Pentagon.”
Al-Jazeera in the hot seat
THE love-hate relationship with Al-Jazeera continues.
First, the Qatar-based satellite news
channel was denounced for carrying Osama
tapes. The U.S. networks were urged not to show
them by U.S. government officials. Then, Washington
decided to try to use the network rather
than denounce it and it placed many officials on
the channel. Just last week, the U.S. government
praised its coverage. This week it is back in the
doghouse with the New York Stock Exchange
now banning its reporters. Reports the
Guardian: “A reporter for al-Jazeera, which has
been criticized by the U.S. military for its coverage
of conflict, has been barred from entering
the exchange while another has been ordered to
return his press card. A spokesman for the
NYSE said it was limiting access to “responsible”
broadcasters and insisted other broadcasters
BATTLEFIELD BLUES
115
had also been affected.”
On the weekend, Jihad Ballout, an Al-Jazeera
spokesperson, responded angrily to criticism
from Donald Rumsfeld: “Look who’s talking
about international law and regulations. We didn’t
make the pictures; the pictures are there,” he
continued. “It’s a facet of the war. Our duty is to
show the war from all angles.”
Meanwhile, Joe Belden of Asia Times Online
reports approvingly of Al-Jazeera coverage from
Jordan: “CNN’s war coverage had been mocked
and overtaken by images that showed the true
face of war in all its madness and horror –
images that almost invariably bore the label “Al-
Jazeera exclusive”. These were not scrolling
maps or armchair generals – these were scenes
of a 12-year-old child with half her head blown off
in Basra. This was the sound and fury of the relatives
of victims of Tomahawk cruise missile
strikes in northern Iraq loudly promising their
revenge. This was live coverage of a hundredsstrong
posse of armed and delighted Iraqis setting
fire to the bulrushes of the Tigris River in
search of a Western pilot presumed hiding
within.
“This was a guided tour of a roomful of U.S.
soldiers in a morgue. This was the fear in the
eyes of a captured U.S. soldier as he was asked
by an off-screen voice in broken English why he
came all the way from Texas just to kill Iraqis. “I
follow orders,” he answered, a strain in his voice.
These were images of war.”
And while Western sensibilities might have
been spared the trauma of exposure to these
images, they went straight into the homes and
hearts of 300 million viewers in the Middle East
on Sunday. The effect was immediate, and
strong.