LONDON/EWORLDWIRE/Feb. 2, 2006 --- Al Jazeera TV just aired video footage of Jill Carroll, a U.S. hostage in Iraq. The airing of the video raises several important questions: -Whose side is Al Jazeera on?
-What, if anything, should the United States do about Al Jazeera airing videos that play right into the hands of terrorist goals and objectives?
-Where does freedom of speech end and war begin?
-Is Al Jazeera simply a tool to be used by terrorists at will?
Answering these questions and more is Afshin Rattansi, former producer with Al Jazeera Television's "Top Secret" program.
In addition to discussing current news in the Middle East, Rattansi also talks about his new book, "The Dream of the Decade," a novel about international media disinformation on terrorism. The book is is available for purchase on Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com
About Afshin Rattansi
Afshin Rattansi was born in Cambridge, England. After analyzing geopolitical and environmental risk for Lloyd's of London, he worked for flagship BBC programs around the world, culminating in his work for the program at the center of the David Kelly affair when one of the world's top WMD scientists committed suicide in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.
Rattansi launched the world's first 24-hour, developing nation, English-language satellite television news network, based in the Middle East. He was its editor between 1999 and 2001. In 2002, he won a Sony Award for his outstanding contribution to international media and journalism. He went on to work at the investigative strand, "Top Secret" at Al Jazeera which first identified the perpetrators of 9/11. His novel, "The Dream of the Decade," charts the chaos that takes place in international television stations and their inability to offer audiences a balanced view of news from around the world.
Rattansi on Hamas:
"Tel Aviv gave help to Hamas to dilute support for a strongly secular PLO in the 1970s (confirmed by former State Department and CIA staff). Israel even reportedly paid money to build mosques. In mitigation, they also wished to infiltrate avowedly militant groups. However, Hamas is said to have found so-called collaborators and shot them. There are also some who say that Israel, as it financially aided Hamas, could in effect torpedo any peace treaties that were enforced on them by the United States and the international community."
"The PLO were strongly supported by the USSR and some in the U.S. were happy with support for organizations that took away followers of secular movements cf the Mujahideen in Afghanistan."
Rattansi on AL Jazeera:
The mad antics of a station under siege from the Arab World and the West."
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