Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09DOHA405
2009-06-21 07:49:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Doha
Cable title:
AJ Director's Take on 6/3 Bin Laden Tapes
how-toVZCZCXRO5045 PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR DE RUEHDO #0405 1720749 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 210749Z JUN 09 FM AMEMBASSY DOHA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9162 INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS DOHA 000405
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS
FOR NEA/ARP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO PTER QA
SUBJECT: AJ Director's Take on 6/3 Bin Laden Tapes
----------------
(SBU) KEY POINTS
----------------
-- (SBU) On the sidelines of Ambassador's meeting with senior Al
Jazeera (AJ) editors to discuss President Obama's Cairo speech,
Ambassador pressed AJ Director General Wadah Khanfar on why AJ aired
messages from Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri on June 3 during
the run-up to the President's speech.
-- (SBU) Khanfar said that AJ had received the Bin Laden tape as an
exclusive, which explains why no other station ran it. It was 35
minutes long, but AJ ran only seven minutes. Asked why Bin Laden
chose AJ, Khanfar said, "I can't blame him; we have five times the
audience of our closest competitor, Al Arabiya."
-- (SBU) Khanfar claimed that the timing of the tape's airing, which
coincided with POTUS's arrival in Riyadh, may have been purposely
calculated by Bin Laden. He asserted that the President's schedule
was not connected to AJ's decision on when to air the tape.
END KEY POINTS
UNCLAS DOHA 000405
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS
FOR NEA/ARP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO PTER QA
SUBJECT: AJ Director's Take on 6/3 Bin Laden Tapes
--------------
(SBU) KEY POINTS
--------------
-- (SBU) On the sidelines of Ambassador's meeting with senior Al
Jazeera (AJ) editors to discuss President Obama's Cairo speech,
Ambassador pressed AJ Director General Wadah Khanfar on why AJ aired
messages from Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri on June 3 during
the run-up to the President's speech.
-- (SBU) Khanfar said that AJ had received the Bin Laden tape as an
exclusive, which explains why no other station ran it. It was 35
minutes long, but AJ ran only seven minutes. Asked why Bin Laden
chose AJ, Khanfar said, "I can't blame him; we have five times the
audience of our closest competitor, Al Arabiya."
-- (SBU) Khanfar claimed that the timing of the tape's airing, which
coincided with POTUS's arrival in Riyadh, may have been purposely
calculated by Bin Laden. He asserted that the President's schedule
was not connected to AJ's decision on when to air the tape.
END KEY POINTS
1. (SBU) On June 8, Ambassador visited AJ headquarters to discuss
with senior editors President Obama's June 4 speech in Cairo.
Before that meeting, Ambassador and PAO took the opportunity to meet
privately with AJ Director General Wadah Khanfar and press him on
AJ's airing of recorded messages from Osama Bin Laden and Ayman
Zawahiri on June 3 during the run-up to the President's speech.
Ambassador asked why Bin Laden's comments had been given such
prominence, especially when the President's speech was clearly going
to be one aimed at reconciliation with the Muslim world.
2. (SBU) Khanfar said that AJ had received the Bin Laden tape as an
exclusive, which explained why no other station carried it. The
entire recording was 35 minutes long, he claimed, but AJ aired only
a total of seven minutes in several segments during its news
bulletins. Asked why Bin Laden chose AJ, Khanfar replied, "I can't
blame him; we have five times the audience of our closest
competitor, Al Arabiya."
3. (SBU) Khanfar argued that Bin Laden's prominence on AJ was
actually reduced by the President's speech. Normally, he asserted,
a news story on AJ runs for a 24-hour cycle, but the Bin Laden
recording ran only from 1500L to 2100L, and was pushed away by much
more coverage of the POTUS speech.
4. (SBU) Ambassador noted that the timing of the Bin Laden
broadcasts certainly appeared to have been aimed to coincide with
the President's arrival in Saudi Arabia and the arrival statement he
delivered there. Khanfar averred that this may have been Bin
Laden's goal, but asserted that AJ's decision to air it had nothing
to do with the President's schedule.
5. (SBU) He claimed that AJ had received the tape at 1100L, reviewed
it at an editorial board meeting, and approved it for airing at
1300, then had it prepared and ready for broadcast during the 1450
news bulletin. This coincided with Obama's 1440 arrival in Riyadh,
but was not done intentionally. Khanfar added that Al Arabiya
included a mention of Bin Laden's recording in its news scroll while
the President was speaking in Riyadh.
LEBARON
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS
FOR NEA/ARP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO PTER QA
SUBJECT: AJ Director's Take on 6/3 Bin Laden Tapes
--------------
(SBU) KEY POINTS
--------------
-- (SBU) On the sidelines of Ambassador's meeting with senior Al
Jazeera (AJ) editors to discuss President Obama's Cairo speech,
Ambassador pressed AJ Director General Wadah Khanfar on why AJ aired
messages from Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri on June 3 during
the run-up to the President's speech.
-- (SBU) Khanfar said that AJ had received the Bin Laden tape as an
exclusive, which explains why no other station ran it. It was 35
minutes long, but AJ ran only seven minutes. Asked why Bin Laden
chose AJ, Khanfar said, "I can't blame him; we have five times the
audience of our closest competitor, Al Arabiya."
-- (SBU) Khanfar claimed that the timing of the tape's airing, which
coincided with POTUS's arrival in Riyadh, may have been purposely
calculated by Bin Laden. He asserted that the President's schedule
was not connected to AJ's decision on when to air the tape.
END KEY POINTS
1. (SBU) On June 8, Ambassador visited AJ headquarters to discuss
with senior editors President Obama's June 4 speech in Cairo.
Before that meeting, Ambassador and PAO took the opportunity to meet
privately with AJ Director General Wadah Khanfar and press him on
AJ's airing of recorded messages from Osama Bin Laden and Ayman
Zawahiri on June 3 during the run-up to the President's speech.
Ambassador asked why Bin Laden's comments had been given such
prominence, especially when the President's speech was clearly going
to be one aimed at reconciliation with the Muslim world.
2. (SBU) Khanfar said that AJ had received the Bin Laden tape as an
exclusive, which explained why no other station carried it. The
entire recording was 35 minutes long, he claimed, but AJ aired only
a total of seven minutes in several segments during its news
bulletins. Asked why Bin Laden chose AJ, Khanfar replied, "I can't
blame him; we have five times the audience of our closest
competitor, Al Arabiya."
3. (SBU) Khanfar argued that Bin Laden's prominence on AJ was
actually reduced by the President's speech. Normally, he asserted,
a news story on AJ runs for a 24-hour cycle, but the Bin Laden
recording ran only from 1500L to 2100L, and was pushed away by much
more coverage of the POTUS speech.
4. (SBU) Ambassador noted that the timing of the Bin Laden
broadcasts certainly appeared to have been aimed to coincide with
the President's arrival in Saudi Arabia and the arrival statement he
delivered there. Khanfar averred that this may have been Bin
Laden's goal, but asserted that AJ's decision to air it had nothing
to do with the President's schedule.
5. (SBU) He claimed that AJ had received the tape at 1100L, reviewed
it at an editorial board meeting, and approved it for airing at
1300, then had it prepared and ready for broadcast during the 1450
news bulletin. This coincided with Obama's 1440 arrival in Riyadh,
but was not done intentionally. Khanfar added that Al Arabiya
included a mention of Bin Laden's recording in its news scroll while
the President was speaking in Riyadh.
LEBARON