history101

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which is responsible for all of the U.S. Government’s international broadcasting, has also made several missteps since 9/11 that have seriously harmed American public diplomacy

Then in February 2004, the BBG established a new Arabic language television channel, al-Hurra, intended to compete with al-Jazeera and other Arabic news channels

Now we are getting somewhere. Since day one, the Coalition Provisional Authority's weakest suit has been the war of ideas, images and public relations. Into this use-it-or-lose-it void stepped Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based TV operation that somehow has wires running to every camcorder in the Arab terrorist world. Punch in english.aljazeera.net for a look at "news" from Iraq spun tirelessly against the coalition. Its photos of "Falluja after the siege" are preposterous, depicting nothing but "destroyed homes" and ominous GIs. The text: "As we drive through the back roads on the way to Falluja, U.S. jets are pounding the area around the tiny village of Garma." If this hooey is what they feed to the English-language audience, imagine the daily TV diet Al-Jazeera trowels on for Iraqis. Al-Jazeera's Web site Wednesday said it wouldn't air the video of an Italian hostage's murder "in order not to upset viewers' sensitivities." Hours later, I heard an all-news radio in New York recite verbatim Al-Jazeera's tender account. If the Marines can get these moribund stations back on the air, the coverage area would include Fallujah and Ramadi. The VHF/UHF stations are owned as cooperatives by TV-competent Iraqis already vetted by the Army. Some broadcast Al-Jazeera for lack of other content. In return for the upgrades, the Iraqi operators would be asked two things: Criticism is fine, but don't run anti-coalition propaganda; and let the Marines buy air time to broadcast public-service announcements, such as the reopening of schools or clinics--or indeed, pending military operations. I can hear the chorus of lamentations about "independence" and "objectivity." Get real. We're in Iraq, not Kansas, Toto. These Iraqis, aided by American soldiers, are manifestly engaged in a death-struggle for their nation. Anyone who has the courage to produce daily television at odds with the goals of the homicidal "insurgents" doesn't need tutorials on journalistic piety from us.

notorious

In many ways the war on terror-the struggle for freedom, progress and peace- boils down to success in Iraq. Our troops are committing their lives to ensuring a successful resolution to this conflict. Now you have a chance to help. Spirit of America (SoA), a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles that helps Americans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan assist people in need, will provide support to a group of Iraqis committed to preparing their country for the idea and practice of democracy

Working through referrals and introductions by American military and civilian personnel, Spirit of America founder, Jim Hake, and head of project management, Kerry Dupont traveled to Amman, Jordan to meet with Iraqis on the front lines of their country's struggle for freedom, willing to risk their lives to create a new way of life and leadership for themselves and the next generation. These champions of change represent the diversity of those dedicated to seeing the best of Iraq triumph. SoA hosted emissaries from Iraq's fledgling independent media outlets and delegates from "Iraq the Model" which is pioneering Iraq's contribution to the blogosphere. They also met in Washington, DC with Iraq's new State Minister of Women's Affairs, Narmin Othman, who also has plans to engage Iraqi women in the quest for freedom. All are willing to take on great personal risk to encourage participation and create an informed electorate before the polling takes place. Spirit of America will support the ideas and efforts of these courageous Iraqis through various projects including securing the rights to and subtitling in Arabic documentaries about elections in other post-dictatorship countries for broadcast in Iraq, production and broadcast of citizen roundtables and townhall meetings, support for Iraqi intellectuals seeking to stimulate public dialog on the new Iraqi constitution, creating an Arabic blogging tool and support of a network of pro-democracy student groups and community organizations called "Friends of Democracy". Mr. Hake calls this "our most important initiative to date with the greatest opportunity to influence positively the future of Iraq."

Much as the success of the free elections in Afghanistan dealt a major blow to the Taliban

Blog enthusiasts pinning great hopes upon the transformative impact of online personal Web logs have often seemed to run ahead of political reality

While a healthy skepticism is wise, it would be wrong to conclude that blogging has no role in Arab politics.  Arab political blogging is changing and becoming more politically relevant. Bloggers have had a discernible impact in a wide range of Arab countries, including their role in the Kefaya movement in Egypt (see Rania Al Malky in this issue), political protests in Bahrain (see Luke Schleusener), the turbulent post-Al Hariri period in Lebanon (see Sune Haugbolle), anti-corruption campaigns in Libya (see Claudia Gazzini) and the 2006 Kuwaiti elections

Ultimately, blogs are a technology which requires political actors and opportunities to become relevant.   Rather than focus on whether blogs alone can deliver democracy or a political revolution, analysts should explore the variety of ways in which blogs might transform the dynamics of Arab public opinion and political activism. 

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