Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ABUDHABI3994
2003-09-02 12:37:00
SECRET
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Cable title:  

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD FACE: AL ARABIYA CHANGES ITS

Tags:  PREL KMDR ECON PGOV ZP 
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Diana T Fritz 03/20/2007 05:33:10 PM From DB/Inbox: Search Results

Cable 
Text: 
 
 
SECRET

SIPDIS
TELEGRAM September 02, 2003


To: No Action Addressee 

Action: Unknown 

From: AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI (ABU DHABI 3994 - UNKNOWN) 

TAGS: PREL, ECON, PGOV, KMDR 

Captions: None 

Subject: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD FACE: AL ARABIYA CHANGES ITS 
 VIEWS TO THE ARAB WORLD 

Ref: None 
_________________________________________________________________
S E C R E T ABU DHABI 03994

SIPDIS
CXABU:
 ACTION: PAO 
 INFO: ECON AMB DCM POL 
Laser1:
 ACTION: PAO 

DISSEMINATION: PAO
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: CDA:RALBRIGHT
DRAFTED: PAO:TPONCE
CLEARED: PAO:HOLSIN-WINDECKER, POL:JMAYBURY, CGD:JDAVIS

VZCZCADI037
OO RUEHC RUENAAA RUEKJCS RUEHZM RUEHLO RUEHFR
RHRMDAB RUCJACC RUCQSOC RHMFISS
DE RUEHAD #3994/01 2451237
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 021237Z SEP 03
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1505
RUENAAA/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHZM/GCC COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0706
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0750
RHRMDAB/COMUSNAVCENT
RUCJACC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
RUCQSOC/USCINCSOC MACDILL AFB FL//PA//
INFO RHMFISS/HQ COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTH BAGHDAD
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 003994 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/FO; NEA/RA; NEA/ARP (DJONES, TWILLIAMS,
LMALENAS); NEA/PPD (DMACINNES, JKINCANNON, JDAVIES);
NEA/P (GSULLIVAN, ACASPER, JSMITH); PA
CPA FOR NKHOURY
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE; NSC
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD
LONDON FOR MOC MHAMBLEY

TAGS: PREL KMDR ECON PGOV ZP
SUBJECT: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD FACE: AL ARABIYA CHANGES ITS
VIEWS TO THE ARAB WORLD

REF: (A) SECSTATE 248139; (B) ABU DHABI 03945; (C) DUBAI 03768;
(D) ABU DHABI 03164; (E) DUBAI 00592; (F) DUBAI 02159 (2002)

CLASSIFIED BY CDA RICHARD ALBRIGHT FOR E.O. 12958 REASONS 1.5 (B)
AND (D)

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 003994

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/FO; NEA/RA; NEA/ARP (DJONES, TWILLIAMS,
LMALENAS); NEA/PPD (DMACINNES, JKINCANNON, JDAVIES);
NEA/P (GSULLIVAN, ACASPER, JSMITH); PA
CPA FOR NKHOURY
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE; NSC
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD
LONDON FOR MOC MHAMBLEY

TAGS: PREL KMDR ECON PGOV ZP
SUBJECT: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD FACE: AL ARABIYA CHANGES ITS
VIEWS TO THE ARAB WORLD

REF: (A) SECSTATE 248139; (B) ABU DHABI 03945; (C) DUBAI 03768;
(D) ABU DHABI 03164; (E) DUBAI 00592; (F) DUBAI 02159 (2002)

CLASSIFIED BY CDA RICHARD ALBRIGHT FOR E.O. 12958 REASONS 1.5 (B)
AND (D)


1. (C) Summary: During an August 9th broadcast, Arabic Satellite
News Channel al Arabiya aired videos of militant organizations
urging Iraqis and Arabs to target "Occupation" forces. Again on
August 28th, the station broadcast footage of similarly hooded
men threatening to kill Iraqi Governing Council members. These
controversial videos and other sensational coverage are a
departure from al Arabiya's formative goal of moderate news
reporting. As al Arabiya strives to best al Jazira, an important
Abu Dhabi TV source pointed out that these broadcasts, and public
confrontations with the USG, are likely to increase al Arabiya's
Arab viewership, at least in the short term. End Summary.

-------------- ---
Al Arabiya, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai's Media City
-------------- ---


2. (C) Al Arabiya Arabic Satellite News Channel is owned
principally by wealthy Saudi businessman Waleed bin Ibrahim al
Ibrahim, a principal shareowner of Middle East Broadcasting
Corporation (MBC),al Arabiya's parent company, and whose sister
Jawhara bint Ibrahim al Ibrahim is a wife of King Fahd. Al
Arabiya's remaining major investors include Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafiq al Hariri, and reportedly, a number of Omani and
UAE businessmen. This list also included several prominent
Kuwaiti investors, who withdrew during the war with Iraq due to
al Arabiya's pro-Saddam message. According to al Arabiya
sources, however, Kuwaiti businessman and royal family member
Ahmed al Fahed Al Sabah quietly reinvested after the war.


3. (C) Early in 2002, these investors decided to establish a
satellite news channel to counter al Jazira's anti-Gulf tones.
To attract Arab viewers, the investors tapped Salah Najm, ex-al
Jazira news and current affairs director, to mold the station

with MBC's current news staff. To serve as spokesperson, Salah
enlisted Saleh Qallah, a former Jordanian Information Minister
who had allowed MBC FM radio broadcasts in Jordan while other
Arab leaders balked. Following the station's launch in February
2003, al Arabiya stuck to its mold initially, producing balanced
and well-formatted news broadcasts. As a result, the Saudi
government requested that al Arabiya launch a Government-owned
news channel in Riyadh and train its Saudi journalists.


4. (C) Along with CNN, Reuters, CNBC, AP, and a Radio Sawa
office, MBC and al Arabiya are based in Dubai's Media City (DMC),
part of the Dubai Technology, Electronic Commerce and Media Zone
(TECOM). TECOM is one of the high-profile initiatives of Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashed al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince (and de facto
ruler) and UAE Minister of Defense, and is supervised by MBR's
Executive Office. DMC day-to-day operations are managed by a
board of directors led by CEO Abdalhamid al Juma', a member of
the wealthy Dubai al Juma' family. DMC currently hosts over 350
organizations, which, for the most part, enjoy unfettered
operation. During the past year, these organizations reported
that they experienced little or no restrictions on the content of
print and broadcast material produced for use outside the
country. Indeed, to promote TECOM's independence, MBR's
Executive Office allows all tenants a free hand, provided that
materials do not touch on three taboo subjects: religion,
pornography, or domestic "political sensitivities," meaning UAE
families.

--------------
Al Arabiya's Moderate Voice Turns Sour
--------------


5. (C) The war in Iraq and violence in Israel brought a change in
al Arabiya's reporting, apparently in reaction to strong public
sentiment against both. During the war, al Arabiya aired
sensational material, such as footage of dead Iraqi civilians and
captured American POWs, out of a perceived need to compete with
al Jazira. On the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, al Arabiya
repeatedly aired Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon saying, "I
am a man of peace," with images of dead Palestinian children and
IDF bulldozers destroying Palestinian homes. Since the war's
end, al Arabiya has persisted in portraying the U.S. presence in
Iraq as a hostile occupation rather than a liberation. Some the
more sensational stories carried on the pan-Arab outlets,
including al Arabiya, have provoked comment such as the August
13th "al Sharq al Awsat" column by Iraqi Adnan Husayn claiming
Arab networks are engaging in "blackmail" and "deceit" in Iraq.


6. (S) According to ORCA sources, al Arabiya has sought to film
attacks on coalition soldiers. Nart Bouran, Head of Abu Dhabi
TV's News Center and close advisor to UAE Ministor of Information
and Culture Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan, confirmed this
with APAO, noting that al Arabiya used an Iraqi stringer around
al Ramadi in an attempt to obtain footage of attacks on coalition
forces. This was also corroborated by Iraqi Abu Dhabi TV
cameraman Haydar Jafar, who, after returning from Iraq, informed
APAO of al Arabiya's same effort.


7. (U) On August 9 and 28, Al Arabiya broadcast videos of hooded
men claiming to be from the "Islamic Jihad Movement," "White
Flags," "Organization of Muslim Youth," and "The Army of
Mohammed." In the August 9th video, the men criticized Iraqi
Shi'ite clerics for not declaring jihad against the "Occupation,"
and called upon Iraqis and Arabs to fight the "Occupation." Most
recently on August 28th, the men declared their intent to kill
Iraqi Governing Council members and their supporters, whom they
labeled "spies" and "traitors."

--------------
Responses to the Videos and US Criticism
--------------


8. (U) Following the Najaf bombing, Iraqi Governing Council (IGC)
members Ibrahim Jaafari and Dr. Muhsin Abd al Hamid appeared on
Al Arabiya and discussed the station's broadcast of the videos.
Dr. Abd al Hamid noted that "the legal experts in the council say
that the transmission of such ideas, like inciting people to kill
members of the Governing Council, is a violation of the law." In
his interview, IGC President Jaafari said that, "should some
channels, God forbid, engage in incitement that tarnishes Iraq's
reputation and suppresses facts ... I assume a channel should be
given a warning that it is perceived to be crossing
internationally accepted red lines" and "if need be, it (the
channel) can be sued through judicial, civilized means."


9. (U) On August 30th, all UAE Arabic and English dailies carried
an Agence France Presse (AFP) interview with News Director Salah
Najm, who responded to criticism of al Arabiya's broadcasts. In
the interview, Najm said that "we believe in the freedom of the
media and the right of people to know." On their decision to
broadcast the videos, Najm remarked that al Arabiya "will not
change their policy" and "we don't take into consideration
political and security values."

-------------- --------------
Confrontation With USG May Increase Arabiya Viewership
-------------- --------------


10. (U) On August 29th, Dubai-based English-language daily "Gulf
News" ran an editorial entitled "Airing Opinion is Part of Free
Speech." The editorial stated that "the United States is wrong
to criticize al Arabiya TV channel's broadcast of statements by
(the) men." The editorial concluded that "the US and the vast
majority of Arabs will disagree with the speakers. The right
course of action is for them to speak out and say that the
violence that the speakers espouse is totally unacceptable. The
attacks on the coalition forces, the UN, and the Jordanian
embassy are wrong. They are a destructive use of terror which
does not serve Iraq at all, and they only help destabilize the
reconstruction of the country. But the right of the TV station
to interview these people, and for speakers to broadcast their
view should not be in question. For the US, to call it
'irresponsible in the extreme' denies the US' own commitment to
free speech. The future of Iraq needs a peaceful transition to
an independent government. Part of achieving this is to maintain
an open debate."


11. (C) Abu Dhabi TV Chief News Editor Fahed Hussein told PAO
INFOSPEC that the recent statements of Acting Department
Spokesperson DAS Phil Reeker on Al Arabiya "will definitely
increase Al Arabiya's viewership." Fahed noted that Al Arabiya's
controversial (and sometimes false) reporting resonates with the
anti-American attitudes of the Arab street. However, Fahed
pointed out that Al Arabiya's controversial broadcasts "could
backfire in the long term if the USG stops granting it
interviews, as European governments and other US allies may do as
well."

ALBRIGHT