Roger Cohen's Case for Al-Jazeera

I got a rumor in my inbox this morning about how today's Roger Cohen column was good and indeed it is: he argues that people should knock off the campaign against al-Jazeera's English-language broadcast service and that this is a perspective people ought to hear.

That all seems quite right to me. I would add that there's a pressing need, in my view, for someone to put up the money to start an outfit that would provide English-language translations of important stories in the Arabic press. Something like MEMRI but without the crazy political agenda.

Comments

I've seen a few Al Jazeera reports (mainly via torrent) and they have made me want to see more.

They were pretty responsible journalism (and debates), and were a helluva lot more informative than CNN and MSNBC. I liked Dave Marash on Nightline and he's doing much the same thing on AJ. They have picked up Rageh Omar, too, I understand.

I'd really like to have al Jazeera on my cable system. Doesn't mean I'd believe them any more than Fox, MSNBC, or CNN, but when those channels turn to dross (which is most of the broadacast day), it'd be nice to have an alternative.

BBC America news can be very good, too. They recently started brodcasting an hour of news a 7 and 10 pm eastern and it's a great thing to watch rather than waiting for Matthews to drool on camera again.

Posted by blatherskite | November 12, 2007 6:02 PM

Something like MEMRI but without the crazy political agenda.

MEMRI's crazy political agenda is Israeli Intelligence's agenda is AIPAC's agenda is the dominant agenda of both major US political parties.

crazy, yes, but stunningly effective, one must admit.

Posted by mrs. ibrahim al-jafaari | November 12, 2007 6:16 PM

You can subscribe to BBC Monitoring, and certain Lexis / Nexis services.

Posted by El Cid | November 12, 2007 6:27 PM

Free sample from BBC Monitoring:

Iraqi Sunni leader, former US, British officials hold talks in Amman - paper

Text of report by Jordanian newspaper Al-Dustur on 12 November

[Unattributed report: "US and British Officials Meet with Al-Dari; US Wishes to Meet with Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq Leaders to Discuss its Vision for a Solution"]

Two former American and British officials told Dr Harith al-Dari, head of the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) in Iraq, that US sides wish to meet with the Islamic association's leadership to discuss developments in Iraq. Former US official Richard Murphy, accompanied by a former British ambassador, met with the AMS leader yesterday afternoon at his residence in Amman upon their request and as representatives of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue.

Official AMS Spokesman Dr Bashar al-Faydi said that Murphy and a former British ambassador met with Dr Al-Dari as representatives of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue, noting that they wanted to know how the AMS evaluates the situation in Iraq and the association's vision for a solution.

Dr Al-Faydi said that the AMS leader made the association's stance and the real problem clear to them noting that the Iraqi problem lies in the occupation and the ongoing political process. He said that the message sent to them by the association is represented in the withdrawal of the occupation army, the return of the national army, and that the current army and police force be dissolved because they have been infiltrated. He added that Dr Al-Dari called on the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue to address the real Iraqi political powers that do not depend on foreign agendas.

Dr Al-Faydi noted that Murphy and the former British ambassador informed Dr Al-Dari of the importance of dialogue with the AMS and that they will report what occurred between them and the government to their respective governments.

Source: Al-Dustur, Amman, in Arabic 12 Nov 07

http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk/examples_iraq_news.shtml

Posted by El Cid | November 12, 2007 6:34 PM

I misread the post's title as "Roger Cohen's Case for Al-Qaida" and did a double take.

Posted by Reality Man | November 12, 2007 7:50 PM

Nothing beats mideastwire.com.

http://www.mideastwire.com/

Posted by Blake H. | November 12, 2007 8:01 PM

iarabs.com is also pretty good

Posted by ScottM | November 12, 2007 8:09 PM

it's not quite like a MEMRI-type service, but if you're talking about getting translations of the web sites of various arab news sources, google translate usually produces a readable rough translation.

or you can always go that other route.

Posted by upyernoz | November 12, 2007 9:45 PM

You mean like FBIS? (or OSC or whatever it's called nowadays)

Would be nice if the product of open source analysis were itself an open source.

Posted by bubba | November 12, 2007 10:27 PM

Sounds like a good project for, say, the State Dept.

Posted by bob | November 12, 2007 10:33 PM

Matt, I think you are completely insane. Interesting to read sometimes, but insane. You are telling me we need to see more of Al Jazeera's perspective when it's run by the corrupt government of Qatar and constantly posts dishonest stories and sympathizes with crazy fundamentalist people. See: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071126/gillespie

Yet MEMRI has a crazy political agenda for TRANSLATING what those crazy people say and making the Western world aware of it.

G-d help us.

Posted by Leo | November 13, 2007 10:07 AM

hey leo, it sounds to me like you've never watched al jazeera. al-J has a clear bias, but it is not sympathetic to "crazy fundamentalists"--it leanings are pan-arab nationalist. and yes, the soft-pedal qatari corruption, but are pretty harsh critics of every other arab regime. they're also the only arab channel that regularly interviews israelis and put them on the air.

al-J critics often fall back on the claim that the channel supports radical islam. but all that really shows is that they're not all that familiar with what is actually broadcast.

Posted by upyernoz | November 13, 2007 10:16 AM

Bonus points for wailing and covering your ears to save yourself from "fundamentalists" while being too superstitious to spell "God".

Posted by Ed Marshall | November 13, 2007 10:22 AM

Hey Ed - Leo's use of "G-d" is not the result of superstition, but rather respect. But then, that's not something you would understand, is it?

And Matt - substantively, MEMRI's translations are as good as it gets. You may not like the fact they take the veil off of the hate that bubbles in the Moslem world, but the truth is often an uncomfortable thing.

Posted by Eagle613 | November 13, 2007 10:39 AM

Hey Ed - Leo's use of "G-d" is not the result of superstition, but rather respect. But then, that's not something you would understand, is it?

And Matt - substantively, MEMRI's translations are as good as it gets. You may not like the fact they take the veil off of the hate that bubbles in the Moslem world, but the truth is often an uncomfortable thing.

Posted by Eagle613 | November 13, 2007 10:39 AM

And you know that because you speak or write Arabic, right?

Well, no.

Why exactly do you know that MEMRI's translation is "first rate"? Think about for a second, why the hell do you even have an *opinion* about something you can't possibly know!!!

Posted by Ed Marshall | November 13, 2007 10:49 AM

I have a friend in Malaysia who was recently caught up in the violent suppression of a pro-democracy rally-- which I've heard not a peep about from the Western press-- and she described al-Jazeera as one of the few sources she thought would report the events with any level of accuracy.

Posted by Persia | November 13, 2007 12:33 PM