Tuesday, August 14, 2012

job requirement

"As’ad AbuKhalil, Professor of political science at California State University, writing in his blog The Angry Arab News Service, is certain the slant of Al-Jazeera’s reporting on Syria is an extension of Qatari foreign policy. “I am not surprised of the leak at all: I am in contact from people inside Al-Jazeera who are disgusted by the propaganda work of the network in the last few months,” he says. “ The network has been so bad that the law of diminishing returns apply here: the network has gone too far in its propaganda work that I can't see any effectiveness in what they do. I know how those things work and they know that I know,” he insists. “The footage that are (sic) being shown show staging of events of calling a civilian an ‘officer’ in the Syrian army, of faking injuries and feeding statements to people before airtime, etc. Al-Jazeera seems to be writing its own professional obituary,” he continues ominously. “I don't know how it can really resurrect itself again. It is mortally wounded. I know that there are people in the network who are pained about what is happening but royal orders are royal orders in the network and no one dare to disobey. I am told that orders came down to the effect that no half-position would be tolerated and that categorical adoption of the Qatari foreign policy on Syria is a job requirement.”"