| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
28 May 2007 07:47:45 AM |
| Object: |
Bushies spent $63 million on WHAT? |
Back in 2004 the Bush administration decided that it would be a good
idea to create a television station which would broadcast propaganda
into 22 countries across the Middle East.
On February 14, 2004, Al Hurra (ironic trans: "the free one") was
born.
According to Wikipedia, the purpose of Al Hurra is to "counter the
biases that the United States government perceives in the Arab world's
news media (specifically from Qatar-based Al Jazeera and United Arab
Emirates-based Al Arabiya)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhurra
Back in 2004 they even aired an interview with Laura Bush.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/03/20040308-6.html
But there's a problem: it turns out that Al Hurra "is run by
executives and officials who cannot speak Arabic," according to ABC
News. http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/us_government_g.html
Therefore, somewhat unsurprisingly...
....the service has recently been caught broadcasting terrorist
messages, including an hour-long tirade on the importance of
anti-Jewish violence, among other questionable pieces.
(snip)
The station's gaffes have included broadcasting in December 2006 a
68-minute call to arms against Israelis by a senior figure of the
terrorist group Hezbollah;
deferential coverage of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's
Holocaust denial conference;
and a factually flawed piece on a splinter group of Orthodox Jews who
oppose the state of Israel, according to the Wall Street Journal,
which has reported the network's travails for months.
But don't worry:
Broadcasting Board of Governors member Joaquin Blaya has got things
under control.
Appearing before a congressional panel last week, he revealed that:
It has never been al Hurra's policy to "provide an open, live
microphone to terrorists."
Well that's nice to know.
So let me get this straight.
It costs the U.S. taxpayer $63 million a year to fund a TV channel
which is supposed to broadcast pro-U.S. propaganda into the Middle
East but instead broadcasts terrorist propaganda because the people
who are supposed to be running the station don't speak Arabic.
I'm honestly not sure which part of that I find most ridiculous.
By EarlG
Democratic Underground
http://www.democraticunderground.com/
Harry
.
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