[iwar] [fc:Target.Al.Jazeera.-.'Information.War'.Weapon]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2002-05-17 06:13:08
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From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
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Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 06:13:08 -0700 (PDT)
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DefenseWatch (sftt.org)
May 15, 2002
Special Report -- Target Iraq
Target Al Jazeera - 'Information War' Weapon
By Robert G. Williscroft
Suppose you want to launch a culture-wide attack against the most powerful
country in the world. The constituents from which you will draw your people
reside in 22 sovereign nations, united by a common language, culture, and
religion. How do you pull it off?
In what we call the Western world, you probably would use television, radio,
and more recently, the internet, to get your message out. Since we operate
under a relatively free press, if you have sufficient time, you can preach
your message across the airwaves, until your following grows to substantial
numbers. If you are an Osama Bin Laden, however, you don't have access to
the traditional airwaves we take for granted in the West. Across the Arab
world, television and radio are tightly controlled by the petty dictators
who rule all but a tiny fraction of these 22 nations. Yes, I know we like to
call these men kings, princes, sheikhs, emirs, or what-have-you, but
bottom-line, they are nothing more than unelected dictators, despots ruling
by force of arms.
In any case, they all control their airwaves as tightly as possible. This
means for a budding Bin Laden, that you will have to find another way to get
your word out.
As the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism continues, and the Bush
administration prepares for a military campaign against Iraq, it is
important for us not to overlook the critical "information war" being waged
by radical Islamic factions against us.
Qatari ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani seized power from his father
in 1995 (another one of those "democratic" reforms). About the same time,
the BBC signed a deal with Orbit Communications in Saudi Arabia. Through its
World Service radio network this Saudi-owned company had built a strong
tradition of objective Arabic-language news coverage. The BBC intended to
provide Arabic newscasts for Orbit's main Middle East channel, insisting the
while on editorial independence. In April 1996, the BBC broadcast a story
including footage of the beheading of a criminal. Following that, the Saudis
pulled Orbit out of the deal. As I said: Despots all.
The new Qatari leader saw an opportunity - so the story goes - to modernize
and democratize his new government. On Nov. 1, 1996, he created Al Jazeera
as part of that effort, allocating $137 million towards a goal of
self-sufficiency for the station within five years. Most of the former BBC
employees joined the fledgling network, carrying on in the tradition of BBC
objectivity.
For the first time, the common Arab had a voice. Al Jazeera quickly became
the most widely listened to station throughout the Arab world. By comparison
to the tightly controlled national stations, Al Jazeera seemed like a breath
of fresh air. The U.S. State Department sang its praises. Al Jazeera was
being called the CNN of the Arab World.
Programs such as "The Opposite Direction" and "The Other Opinion" featured
debates on controversial issues similar to CNN's Crossfire. Islamic
militants argued with secular liberals, and supporters of the peace process
with Israel debated its opponents. Al Jazeera interviewed political
dissidents from across the spectrum, even airing Osama bin Laden in June
1999. During the last Israeli election campaign, Al Jazeera sent Muhammad
Kreishan to interview representatives of all major Israeli political
parties, including an David Bar-Illan, who was an adviser to former Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It was heady stuff.
Then 9/11 happened, and the U.S. military commenced operations against al
Qaeda and the Taliban. Almost immediately, the Taliban expelled all
news-gathering groups except for Al Jazeera. Nearly everything you saw
during the first dramatic weeks of the war originated with Al Jazeera.
The seeds had been well planted. All that remained was to set the hook
firmly in the mouth of Western media. Al Jazeera interviewed Secretary of
State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and National
Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice. What the common Arab on the street saw and
heard, however, were short excerpts from these interviews, taken totally out
of context. These snippets reinforced the growing perception in the Arab
world that America is the Great Satan and our war on terror is somehow a
Zionist plot.
No longer was Al Jazeera a free-wheeling Arabian copy of CNN. It still
carried the veneer; its 500 employees included 70 journalists; its 27
bureaus include offices in Washington, New York, London, Paris, Brussels,
Moscow, Djakarta and Islamabad. But the focus, which had been moving slowly
and steadily away from a CNN-like image, had now shifted totally.
Instead of balanced reporting, the Arab on the street now receives a 24/7
barrage of the worst kind of propaganda. Bin Laden has complete unedited
access to Al Jazeera; George Bush is quoted out of context. On Al-Jazeera
suicide bombers are martyrs and Israelis "devils." Jews are "descendants of
apes and pigs," and the Holocaust never happened. Bin Laden is an heroic
romantic. 9/11 was a Zionist plot, and 4,000 Jews did not show up at the WTC
on the morning of 9/11. Slow periods are filled with endless loops depicting
dying Palestinian children accompanied by inflammatory martial music.
Al Jazeera now feeds 150,000 American homes, homes occupied by Islamic
adults and children. With its arrival via the Dish Satellite Network, most
Arab Americans no longer listen to CNN or FOX or any of the other relatively
unbiased news sources. For the adults with their minds already made up this
probably makes little difference. For the children, however, there is no
counterpoint. They are immersed in this stuff around the clock: hate,
anti-American, anti-Israel, with nothing to offset the pictures of
Palestinian children being butchered by jack-booted Jews.
Perhaps you've noticed: the free-world press no longer touts the goodness of
Israel. Instead, we see and hear more and more of the plight of the
unfortunate Palestinians. We hear about Israeli "massacres" of innocent
Palestinians. Our president issues "orders" for an Israeli withdrawal.
And yet the preponderance of Western media still writes that Al Jazeera
represents the best hope for a free press throughout the Arab world.
Qatar's five-year deadline for Al Jazeera self-sufficiency is more than a
year past, and still the network receives an annual subsidy from the Qatari
government approaching $100 million. The government of a supposedly friendly
Arab nation underwrites the vilest, most acrimonious, inflammatory lies and
half-truths ever broadcast.
The hook is set. Millions of Muslims who were still unsure now know with a
certain conviction. Our recently-launched new hip Voice of America is a day
late and a dollar short. The con is complete. Al Jazeera rules. And it is a
wartime propaganda weapon aimed at the United States and the West.
As we ready our military for the onerous task of finding and taking out
Saddam Hussein we cannot ignore the battle that is taking place in full fury
right before our eyes. We are in a war for survival - nothing less. Arab
public opinion is already on the side of the holy warriors, and thanks to Al
Jazeera, world opinion is steadily moving in their direction. Already, the
most popular Middle East figures are Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Yasser
Arafat, and Mullah Mohammed Omar. President Bush calls them evildoers, but
to their fellow Muslims and much of the rest of the world, they are heroes.
That won't change no matter how many leaflets we drop on them, or how many
hip songs VOA broadcasts.
We still have an option, or maybe two: We can jam the Hell out of Al Jazeera
broadcasts, or we can destroy the facilities. Either way we will anger a lot
of people. But if Al Jazeera can't be heard - ever, and neither can its
lesser imitators such as the Arab News Network (ANN) and Sharjah TV, the end
result can be millions of Muslims harboring less anger, because they're not
being fed this garbage on a daily basis.
Two satellites form the nexus for all the anti-American inflammatory
broadcasts: Arabsat 2A/2B and Nilesat 101. We wouldn't hesitate to take out
an Iraqi SAM battery that threatened U.S. aircraft. These birds are far more
dangerous. How difficult would it be to eliminate these offending
satellites?
To assuage those who would lose beneficial broadcasts that also use these
facilities, we could offer space - without charge, if necessary - on any one
of our own satellites; or we could even launch a replacement unit that we
control.
The bottom line is: This is war. We are losing one of its most important
battles. It's time we changed this!
Robert G. Williscroft is DefenseWatch Navy Editor.

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