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'Mission Al Jazeera': From US Marine Officer To Foreign Correspondent
A review of Josh Rushing's book Mission Al-Jazeera:Build a Bridge, Seek the Truth, Change the World
Why is a 14-year veteran U.S. Marine officer, a Texan, working for Al Jazeera, the so-called terrorist network? Al Jazeera is not the mouthpiece of Al Qaeda, as U.S. propaganda claims. It is the only nongovernmental 24-hour news network to reach the Arab world, and its cutting-edge technology allows it to be viewed by 100 million people all over the world, which means that it is aired mostly to a non-Arabic audience.
Al Jazeera English (www.-aljazeera.net/English), first launched on Nov. 15, 2006, is viewed by people who can speak English as their first, second or third language. The network is very popular in Europe but not widely available in the United States, except on the Internet.
Al Jazeera does not worry about its news content being "fair and balanced" as much as it tries to "speak truth to power." In other words, the network seeks to remake the international news paradigm by presenting stories from the perspective of the developing world, the poor countries, instead of from the perspective of the wealthy nations only, as the BBC does. Josh Rushing (a reporter for Al Jazeera who now lives in Washington, D.C.) likens Al Jazeera to "David standing up to the Goliath of the Western world."
Al Jazeera also takes on controversial issues that most of its viewers have not heard about-including homosexuality, women's rights and critiques of the Koran and policy initiatives in the Middle East. It invites Israelis to speak more than any other network in the world outside of Israel. The network is not without its critics-from all sides of the political spectrum-but it appreciates such assessments as a validation of its credibility.
The network was created and is supported by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, emir of Qatar. Located on a small peninsula on the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia (population 841,000) Qatar is one of the most liberal countries of the Arab world. The emir is one of the richest men, too, and he is trying to win the power game against his rival, Saudi Arabia, through Al Jazeera. He also played the power card by giving the Americans permission to build a base in Qatar for the U.S. Central Command.
How did Rushing become a reporter for Al Jazeera? After finishing high school, Rushing enlisted in the Marines and then earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas in classical civilization and ancient history. He subsequently served as a Hollywood military movie consultant and also as a consultant for the television show "JAG."
Before the war in Iraq began, Rushing, then a lieutenant, was assigned to the headquarters of CentCom, in Doha, Qatar. CentCom is responsible for all military matters in the region from Sudan to Kazakhstan, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran. A curious fellow, Rushing excitedly took on his task as media spokesman by studying Arabic as well as the culture of the Middle East. This work helped him to form relationships with journalists from Al Jazeera, one of several news outlets he had been assigned to serve.
It was not long, however, before he realized that the military had not planned its media strategy for the war. Worse yet, the military did not know much about Al Jazeera or the negative sentiments against the United States that pervaded the region.
"Al Jazeera offered us a chance to engage the ideologies that fueled 9/11," said Rushing, who tried to convince senior officers to pay attention to Al Jazeera in order to convey America's purpose in the region and the larger war on terrorism. His ideas for "building this information bridge" were not only brushed aside; he was even called a traitor. Eventually Rushing also found out that the military would process news from Iraq through the Bush administration's political handlers, who pursued a "public relations" effort.
Public affairs and public relations are vastly different, Rushing explains. Public affairs is designed to inform the public about what is going on, while public relations explains the reasoning behind the decisions. P.R. is akin to propaganda. So instead of being the "constitutional watch dog" that he had been trained to be, Rushing was pressed to be a P.R. flack "promoting the whims of politicians." And while he claims he was never directly ordered to lie, it was clear to him that he was expected to follow a script.
Rushing's brief service in the war took an unexpected turn after he inadvertently and unknowingly became the main character in an independent documentary called "Control Room," which reports how the United States was perceived internationally in its war with Iraq. Although Rushing at first believed in the cause of the war and that it could serve a greater good, the film portrays him as a changed marine with a conscience. He speaks about his empathy for dead Iraqis, his view of the war and his growing skepticism when he learned that the world saw America's action in Iraq as "naked aggression."
His appearance in "Control Room" did not win him any favors with the Pentagon, and he-and his wife-were silenced from speaking to the press. Once the film became more popular and he more famous, Rushing understood that his career with the Marines was over, so in August 2004 he resigned his commission. Later the opportunity to work for Al Jazeera opened up as a consequence of his appearance in the film.
Rushing's goal in working for Al Jazeera is to help Americans discover the Middle Eastern point of view, especially since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, proved that the United States could no longer afford to isolate itself from the rest of the world. He says that America-and its leaders-must realize that other people's perceptions of our country matter, especially since we are a global political and economic power; and he confesses that he is "dumbfounded" that most Americans still are neither interested in nor knowledgeable about the Arab world.
This book will be an eye-opener for readers, as they watch a gung-ho marine stationed at the command center of a war being transformed into a correspondent for Al Jazeera. It reads quickly and clearly and provides yet another eyewitness testimony about how the war in Iraq has been waged.
Olga Bonfiglio is a professor at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and author of Heroes of a Different Stripe: How One Town Responded to the War in Iraq. She has written for several national magazines on the subjects of social justice and religion. Her website is www.OlgaBonfiglio.com. Contact her at olgabonfiglio@yahoo.com.
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14 Comments so far
Show AllI love Al Jazeera English...thank God for satellite!
Al-Jazeera rules !!!!
Some of my Arab frieends think Al Jazerra is owned and operated by the CIA. I personally watch it, CNN, BBC France24 and Swiss news stations. The more I watch Al Jazerra the more I respect it and the job it is doing. It should be required watching for every American
I watch Al Jazeera every day online. Subscription is $5.95 a month. It's the only news TV I watch, and it's truthful. It puts US propaganda to shame. Even CBC and BBC are now slanted toward the Establishment agenda. Al Jazeera is the only independent news outlet that presents the facts as they are. I just hope that Al Jazeera doesn't get co-opted by the US Establishment, as unually happens with time..
Three cheers for Al-Jazeera English - long may it live!
It is the ONLY news channel I watch because it is balanced and fair, and gives voice to those from the developing world who have been marginalised by other media such as CNN, BBC, etc, stations which are also biased, particularly in relation to the Middle East. Not only does Al-Jazeera give us the news as it happens (accurate) - it also educates. Every programme is very interesting, from 'Inside Iraq'(great with Jassim Azawi!) to 'Every Woman' to 'Witness', which is particularly special, with the wonderful presenter, Raghee Omar!
Thank you Al-Jazeera English - you are truly a blessing.
Al-Jazeera English is not much different the the British or US press. It has a bourgoise perspective but, like the BBC, it isn't run by the NSA and Psy-Ops.
"...he confesses that he is "dumbfounded" that most Americans still are neither interested in nor knowledgeable about the Arab world."
He need only look at the trajectory of his own enlightenment to figger this out. When you are raised up from babyhood to believe in American exceptionalism -- believe that America is the greatest country on earth, the most advanced, the most moral -- why would you want to find out what other countries have to say or to offer? They are, by definition, more primitive, less moral, less intelligent than you are.
It amuses me that most Americans say they like Canada and Canadians. But actually LISTEN to them?! What the hell for?
Yes, al Jazeera rules !
I have been pushing this idea in hopes that it will gain traction. As an american it sems that concerned individuals seem to have little effect in bringing about change. Many individuals of character (Cindy Sheehan/Nader) and many groups (ACLU/Anti-War movement) can not penetrate the blanket of dollars that corporations use to suppress meaningful change and more importantly even let fellow american understand how many americans do NOT approve of the direction, ethics and policy of this once great nation.
I suggest that a a coalition of ALL groups (Immigration/Anti-War/Anti-globalization Healthcare/Free Speech/Free Press- and just concerned Americans in general) combine and simultaneously withdraw an average of 10,000 dollars oout of the banking/brokerage section of this country for sa one week. If a combined group of 10,000,000 people withdrew an average of $10,000 dollars - we would effectively have removed 100 billion in cash - but due to fractional reserve banking as much as 10 TRILLION dollars out of the economy.
OUR MONEY - they use to finance deadbeat corporations (such as Enron and worldcomm amongst many other corupt anti-american people corporations) -not to mention the governement who would rather show 50 people protesting in Burma a dozen times in a day - but not the 100,000 in Washington DC on September 15th or the one million in NYC during the Republican National Convention - as well as countless other examples. They are using OUR MONEY as collateral to do harm to US.
If -it is possible to combine our goals into one goal - which is to let these corporations/governmets KNOW that we KNOW - they are sing OUR MONEY to finance a WAR against US - and we will move it to Switzerland or some other country - just like they outsource oor jobs - we could single handly achieve the greatest worldwide non-violent most effective protest in the history on mankind.
We already know - that Mexico's biggest foreing exchange generator is immigrants sending money back home - more than oil!! - Imagine the message we would be able to send to all oppressed people everywhere - if we could successfully withdraw upto 10 trillion dollars in funds from the worlds largest economy !! All of a sudden the contempt from our congressman, senators, police, banks, corporations and brokerage houses would shrivel to the size of a raisun in the sun.
What do you guys think!1 I see no other way for americans to restore their voice in thie governance of our country - with out getting arrested/fired/balcklisted ad nauseum!!!!!
iyamwutiam, it's the first hurdle -- the coalition part -- that's hard. The recent inaugural conference of the US Social Forum was a demonstration of how difficult it is today to get Americans to come together on a sustained basis:
https://www.ussf2007.org/
You can get Americans together for a protest or rally, but it's really difficult to sustain this kind of solidarity. I think that's why moveon.org is such an interesting phenomenon.
This really isn't the fault of ordinary Americans per se, but of this anti-society pro-family ideology that's been shoved down the throats of Americans for the last 20 years. Put this together with Homeland Security's "report your suspicious neighbor" campaign, and you've created a situation in which Americans have trouble trusting one another -- trouble giving each other the benefit of the doubt.
As for making a large-group impact on the economy as a strategy, I think that's a great idea. But I would figure out a more workable way to do it, since the personal savings rate of Americans is currently zero.
I think the time is not far off when a critical mass of Americans will be ready for a general strike. That would bring the economy to a crashing halt.
"…he confesses that he is "dumbfounded" that most Americans still are neither interested in nor knowledgeable about the Arab world."
I am!
I think that most people in the world are not too inform of other culture. Maybe if we remove all the borders(and religion) in the world, we can understand each other better.
Prediction: Rupert Murdoch will buy Al-Jazeera soon. How do you say Fox News in Arabic? Also "fair and balanced"?
"proved that the united states could no longer isolate itself from the rest of the world"
Since when did the united states isolate itself from the rest of the world?
All of the history I have studied tells of the U S always attacking some country. When they had no one to attack they attacked and killed each other over four year period. I am seventy six and my whole life the U S has been killing somebody somewhere.
The never-ending cycle of health problem, unemployment, poverty, terrorism, increasing standard of living of people, insufficient supply of food are just some of the current problem our economy is facing today, in an effort to minimize this the leading Democratic presidential candidate, who is firmly running on a platform that will inject increased government regulations into problem areas like the economy.
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