Last Friday Ayman al Zawahiri sent another video to al Jazeera, which played some clips from it, surrounded by commentary. The way al Jazeera handled it was entirely typical, but is still worth pointing out for those who still think that al Jazeera is a mouthpiece for terrorism.
After the clips were aired, host Jumana Nimour invited two guests to comment on them. One was Diya Rashwan of Egypt's Ahram Center, one of the more ubiquitous of Arab commentators on Islamist issues. The other was the Lebanese journalist Khayrallah Khayrallah.
First, Jumana asked Diya Rashwan whether Zawahiri was responding to Bush's swearing in ceremony speech. Rashwan gave a pretty straightforward response, arguing that Zawahiri was trying to show that he is closely monitoring world events, and to offer a critique of American reform efforts and a competing vision. Rashwan was more analytical than polemical.
Then, Jumana turned to Khayrallah, who offered this bit of cheerleading for Zawahiri:
Simply speaking, and although one might have many reservations about the US policy, I believe that what Al-Zawahiri said expresses the extent of the bankruptcy reached by the organization to which he is affiliated, that is Al-Qa'ida Organization. The ideology he upholds has resulted in catastrophes only. [note: this is the FBIS translation, not mine - pure laziness and lack of time on my part]
Go team!
How much does a subscription to the Arab satellites cost in the US?
Posted by: Jeff | February 22, 2005 at 04:21 PM