Juan Cole At Salon.com: Clinton And Obama On Al-Jazeera

[Hissyspit]

Clinton and Obama on Al-Jazeera

The Arab network has followed the Democratic race closely. Inside its studios, I discover how Clinton's "obliterate Iran" comment played, and much more.

By Juan Cole



Screen shot from Al-Jazeera on YouTube

May 12, 2008 | DOHA, Qatar -- Last Wednesday morning, Al-Jazeera's Arabic service reported from Indianapolis on the split results of the North Carolina and Indiana primaries. For analysis, the anchor in Doha, Qatar, interviewed the network's Washington correspondent, Fady Mansour. "A state for each candidate, is that right?" she asked. Mansour replied that it might seem so from the outside, but in fact winning states was less important than winning delegates, and Barack Obama had bettered his lead over Clinton in that regard. He also said that behind the scenes the Clinton camp was seized with anxiety over whether their candidate's showing meant the end of the road.

Al-Jazeera's coverage of the primary focused on the facts and avoided editorializing, and its interpretation of the meaning of last Tuesday's events was squarely within the mainstream of U.S. political reporting. The only exceptional things about it were the language spoken by the on-air talent and the fact that a satellite channel based halfway around the world in a tiny Gulf emirate had the means and the interest to report from Indiana and Washington on the complexities of the U.S. primary system to Arabic-speaking viewers.

Many Americans incorrectly think of Al-Jazeera's Arabic-language network as al-Qaida Central because it occasionally broadcasts excerpts from videotapes of the terror organization's leaders. Nowadays, however, viewers are far more likely to see images of the American presidential candidates on the channel's screens. As the United States, always an interested party, has become a dominant on-the-ground player in the Middle East, residents of the region increasingly feel that their own fate depends on the outcome of this election. I was in Qatar earlier this month and stopped by the office of Ahmed Sheikh, editor in chief of Al-Jazeera's Arabic service, to ask him about his network's coverage of the campaign.

- snip -

Safely delivered to Sheikh's office, I was plied with strong Arab tea. Soon our conversation turned to the U.S. presidential campaign. Why, I asked, give such distant events air time? "Because the United States is occupying Iraq and it is an ally of Israel and a power broker in the region," Sheikh replied. "The United States is the only superpower on the planet. Events in Iraq and Palestine affect this area."

He revealed that the station would be preparing 40 more stories between now and November covering the American elections. "We are interested in the Arab-American vote, but also in the black and Hispanic votes. Arab-Americans may be trending Democratic, largely because of the Iraq situation." (When I later spoke to Gaven Morris, the Australian head of planning at Al-Jazeera International, he said his service had not been covering the primaries intensively, but would ramp up coverage closer to the general election for its audiences in Asia, Africa and Latin America. I had the impression that the Arabic channel was more interested in the primary season.)

How did Sheikh view Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's remark about the United States being able to "totally obliterate" Iran? "It will not be a picnic for the U.S. to attack Iran. That would push oil to $300 a barrel, with severe consequences. And Iran would find ways of retaliating." Interestingly, he made allowances, observing, "Hillary Clinton is in an election campaign. I would give her the benefit of the doubt." What about presumptive Republican nominee John McCain's repeated gaffes in misrepresenting al-Qaida as a Shiite organization when it is actually made up of radical Sunnis? "Those people in Washington, D.C., do not do their homework," Sheikh lamented. "The U.S. 'empire,'" he said, making scare quotes with his fingers, "is not behaving rationally. It is not capable of taking the right decisions at the right time from the point of view of the rest of the world."

Sheikh did not see Iran as a burgeoning enemy, the way it is depicted in the United States and in some quarters of the Arab world, such as Saudi Arabia. He suggested taking a wider view. "Most people in Algeria and Morocco do not see Iran as an enemy but do not want Iran to dominate Iraq."

"Salafis are the ones who worry about an Iranian Shiite threat," he explained. Salafis are revivalist, fundamentalist Sunnis. Ironically, Al-Jazeera has often been accused of favoring the Salafis, and that is its reputation in Iraq -- where its offices have been closed since 2004. Sheikh gave no evidence of such a bias against Shiites. He expressed admiration for the deft way Iran had handled its crisis with the West. He seemed to be responding to the Bush administration's hopes for an alliance of Israel and the Arab states against Iran when he said, "The common enemy in the Arab collective mind is Israel as long as it doesn't reach peace with the Palestinians."

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[The Ghost]

1. I was in Auckland in January

and Al-Jazeera is one of the major news stations you get to see there, and probably some of the best news reporting Ive ever seen.

[DerekJ]

2. kick

[dano81818]

3. The real problem in the arab world is the last sentence of the article

and the fact that they continue to scapegoat israel by blaming all the problems of the arab world on that country, its people, and supporters.

until that changes and arab rulers take responsibiity for themselves and their people, there will never be peace.

[boppers]

4. How many countries in the area have been at war with Israel?

Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria... with the latest "Hot war" (troops on foreign soil) attacks less than 5 years ago. While there are many other issues in the ME, this one is pretty relevant to day-to-day life, living under constant threat (real, or perceived) of attack and invasion.

Oh, and your brush might be a tad broad there, with "the arab world" and "they".