In the Arab world they seem to.
I just want to make a subtle point here. The Al Jazeera Network is a mouthpiece for the movement of Islamic Terrorism. It is a propaganda machine and makes every effort it can to both bolster and congratulate Islamic terrorist actions wherever they occur, throughout the world.
Anyone gets beheaded it's on Al Jazeera, any group is massacred it's on Al Jazeera, anyone is mutilated and dragged through the streets – you'll see it on Al Jazeera.
I recently heard an American radio show host a live call from the first and only call-in/talk radio show in Iraq. When asked by the American host what the number one subject of the calls on his program were, the Iraqi host replied, “It used to be the lack of electricity, but now since we have had electrical power restored, it has turned to the problem with the sewer system.” How I know the American host had expected that the answer would have been something like, “When will the American occupation end and those terrible soldiers leave our land? But it wasn't the answer he got and the American actually tried fishing for the answer he really wanted, but alas the Iraqi talk show host never responded. He simply replied, “Most of our calls concerning the American presence are from people who want to thank the Americans for making their lives safer. The other topic we received a lot of calls about is unemployment, as there are a lot of men out of work right now.” This was very, very cool because being a live broadcast the Iraqi host was just being simple, honest and forthright, and this caught the American completely off guard, something our journalists and broadcasters could learn from. But here is where the interview took an awful turn.
In a moment of pure spontaneity and simple curiosity, the Iraqi radio host asked, “Why does the media in the U.S. and International press never report on the improvements that have been made in Iraq since the fall of Saddam? Our schools are open, we have a free press, we are going to have elections, women can attend school and get jobs and our children are now safe. All that is reported in your news is about car bombs or an ambush where some terrorists have attacked and killed someone. In Iraq it is like if one or two cities in America had riots or uprisings while the rest of the country remains away from the trouble, would you only put on the news of the riots and not news of the rest of your country? What of the good things that were also taking place?
Now, I'm not a journalist or news analyst but this guy deserves a Pulitzer Prize. He put the entire U.S. and International media on call, with just a simple honest question.
All I can say is this. Every time I see news footage of an Iraqi terrorist aiming and firing a sniper rifle or an R.P.G. on mainstream evening news, I see an enemy trying to kill an American. Maybe the commentator should be doing a voice over saying, “This young Iraqi Freedom fighter is trying to shoot one of those 4 marines over there manning that checkpoint.” Funny, that's never mentioned.
Back to Al Jazeera
I've been briefed by our intelligence apparatus regarding Al Jazeera. Very simply it goes like this: If you see an Al Jazeera cameraman or an Al Jazeera van anywhere near your position, take cover and prepare for an attack. This is not a joke – it is real.
I was dismayed by a recent event that took place in Iraq. It involved a Bradley Fighting Vehicle that was disabled by Terrorists. A U.S. air strike was called for to fully destroy the vehicle for obvious security reasons. In the U.S. news it was reported and repeated many times that among others, an Al Arabiya reporter was mortally wounded and lay upon the ground calling out “I am dying, I am dying.”
Well I've got some advice for all the Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya reporters.
The next time you get a phone call from some terrorist telling you to be on some street corner in an hour to see Americans get killed – Don't Go.
Ernest R. Emerson
