11 - 17 October 2001
Issue No.555
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 11 - 17 October 2001 Issue No.555 |
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Fluid, all too fluid
For reasons that don't take much intelligence to divine, the Qatari satellite news channel Al-Jazira is now the only television network licensed to work in Afghanistan. No sooner had US and British submarines launched their missiles than Al-Jazira's cameras were beaming those strange fireworks across the world.
There had been news of a crisis between the US and Qatar, of which Al-Jazira was the cause. Washington asserted that Al-Jazira encouraged anti-American feelings in the Middle East, publicised the statements of Taliban leaders, and those of Bin Laden, and made Afghan reactions to the American campaign known to all.
In fact, while Al-Jazira's success in this context may be a brilliant media achievement, it is America that will benefit the most from the window it provides on Afghanistan's internal conditions as its military operations continue.
What Al-Jazira is doing, in fact, is exactly what CNN did during the Gulf War, when it was the only television channel working from within Iraq and broadcasting the statements of Saddam Hussein.
Nobody can sensibly accuse Qatar of working against American interests, for the American military bases and arms stores within Qatar's borders should be sufficient to dispel any such doubts. Al-Jazira had to win over the Taliban to gain permission to move freely around Afghanistan without being arrested like a certain English journalist.
On the other hand, America's battle against the Taliban no doubt provides for an intense, worldwide media campaign that benefits from a careful strategy and truly unimaginable facilities. Among all the countries allied to America, Britain stands out in this regard. Tony Blair's role in the media resembles that of an enthusiastic salesman as he promotes America's cause, more vehemently, in some cases, than Donald Rumsfeld himself. Placing 20,000 British troops at the disposal of the Americans in Oman, Blair calls for not only capturing Bin Laden and liquidating Al-Qa'ida, but also bombing the Taliban and creating a new government.
The British role is perhaps a little surprising, considering that the document Blair is waving about as "decisive proof" of Bin Laden's guilt is no more than a press report of which the details, previously made public, constitute no legal evidence. But then again, Britain's policy is designed to demonstrate its close ties with the US, compromising any possibility of a sensible, integrated European position. Britain was, let it be remembered, the only European country that joined forces with America in the decade-long bombing of the Iraqi people.
Even more surprising is the abrupt change in Putin's position and Russia's sudden willingness to go as far as possible in its support of America's campaign, which made it easier for Washington to persuade the former Soviet Islamic states in Central Asia to accommodate military bases and place their airports at the US's disposal. Putin knew the details of America's attacks on the Taliban, moreover, well before the operations began. He has even declared that Russia would no longer oppose the inclusion of former Soviet states in NATO -- a major point of contention between Russia and the US. What he got in return -- free reign in Chechnya, and a blind eye turned to Russian atrocities committed against the resistance, including wiping Grozny off the face of the earth -- seems a reasonable enough reward for that change of heart.
A certain fluidity, indeed, is apparent in international politics -- a fluidity whose dangerous long-term effects we have yet to discern.
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