In the real world, pulling the plug on a popular TV station in a country (Iraq) embroiled in a civil war, and teetering between a democratic or theocratic government, probably isn’t a good idea. It definitely sends the wrong message especially when that station is owned and operated by the tribal minority. But when you dwell in a bizarro world, a delusional world where up is down and right is wrong, I suppose it’s a perfectly logical choice to make.
I really don’t know what the administration was trying to accomplish. Common sense would make most people realize that in a newly "freed" country run by a corrupt, occupying force and a weak, complicit government, a good number of factions can more or less operate unhindered by oversight or scrutiny on the part of the government.
A story in Saturday’s New York Times tells the tale of an Iraqi Sunni Arab determined to use the resources -- in this case a television station -- available to him to aid his fellow tribesmen in the insurgency. He only had two problems; the Green Zone shut the station down and... no money.
From the article:
Such tapes, along with images of victims of Shiite militias and unflattering coverage of Shiite leaders, are beaming across Iraq and much of the Middle East 24 hours a day, broadcast by a banned Iraqi satellite television station that has become a major information center for the Sunni insurgency — and the focus of a cat-and-mouse hunt that has exasperated and infuriated American and Iraqi forces.
Making the situation even more galling for the authorities, American and Iraqi officials say that money stolen from the United States probably helps pay for the station.
So, let’s get this straight. American and Iraqi officials ordered the television station shut down. Despite being officially "shut down," the station’s operators have not only managed to keep the station broadcasting, they’ve also engineered a shift in programming formats from popular music to Sunni propaganda and use American money to operate it.
More from the article:
The channel’s founder, Meshaan al-Juburi, is a former Sunni member of Parliament who was indicted last February on charges of embezzling millions of American dollars meant to pay for a vast pipeline protection force he had been assigned to help build with recruits from Salahuddin Province. He was accused of collecting salaries for thousands of soldiers who did not exist.
He denied the charges and went into hiding, fleeing to Syria.
Evidently, this cat and mouse game between al-Juburi and the law has been going on since November 5 of ‘06 when the station was accused of "agitating the people against a large Iraqi sect with killing and genocide." and banned from the air. The operation has moved at least twice since the ban.
Baha al-Araji, a Shiite Member of Parliament familiar with efforts to cut off the station, said the Iraqi government had also asked Nilesat, the Egyptian broadcaster responsible for transmitting the station via satellite, to cancel its contract with Al Zawra. So far, the company has refused, and the Egyptian government has rejected requests to intervene.
Iraqi officials said Nilesat promised not to renew Al Zawra’s contract, though they did not know when it would expire.
The station’s popularity is being aided by growing fears among Sunnis in neighboring countries of Shiite domination in Iraq, fears Al Zawra stokes through the often-gruesome videotape of what it identifies as death-squad victims.
Ok, a couple of distinctions aside are in order. (1) The Shi'ites control the government. That makes the Sunnis the insurgents. (2) The U.S. is accusing Iran of helping the Shi'ites in Iraq, and if I’m not mistaken, we’re accusing Syria of aiding the Sunnis in Iraq. (even though I’ve heard pundits armed with Whitehouse talking points obfuscate the situation, claiming Iran is helping the insurgents, which makes absolutely no sense at all.)
One more point and I’ll move on: according to the previous blockquote, an Egyptian man is responsible for transmitting the station’s signal via satellite. The Iraqi government in Baghdad has asked him to cease and desist but he’s refused, and the Egyptian government has so far refused to intercede on behalf of Baghdad’s request.
So far, the only one of Iraq’s neighbors who hasn’t helped the insurgency (as far as we know) is Syria. Yet the Bush administration blames Syria for aiding the Sunni insurgency and not Egypt. Nor, for that matter, has the administration blamed Saudi Arabia for aiding the insurgency, who’s not only been threatening to start backing the Sunnis in Iraq, probably already have aided them unofficially.
But I digress. More from the Times:
As neighborhoods in Baghdad and elsewhere continue to be purged of Sunnis, the broadcasts prominently list the names of areas that have been taken over, advocating bloody vengeance. And even as America considers sending more troops to Iraq, in part to protect Sunnis from being slaughtered, the channel is meant to inspire resistance.
All right, we’re sending troops to protect the Shiites (who are the majority and have full access to government resources, albeit scant) while at the same time sending troops to eradicate Muqtada al-Sadre’s Mahdi army. (who is also overwhelmingly Shi'ite and responsible for propping up Maliki’s regime) This is getting frustrating to say the least.
Back to the article:
Mr. Juburi’s critics said he has a history of parlaying political favor into personal fortunes. Iraqi officials said he made millions as a cigarette supplier under Saddam Hussein, and later ingratiated himself with Americans searching for Sunnis to bring into Iraq’s new government.
Mr. Juburi now lives openly and comfortably in Syria.
"Our media’s message is to broadcast the voice of the resisters to the American and Iranian occupation, to reveal the crimes of Badr Organization and Moktada’s army and the gangs of Maliki," the representative said, citing two prominent Shiite militias, "and document it and work on forming a legal directorate to prosecute them in international courts for the crimes of genocide against the Sunni Arabs in Iraq."
This is where it gets even stranger. According to the article, the outlaw TV station regularly accuses Maliki’s regime of being a front to Iran on air, calling the Parliamentary speaker, Mr. Mashhadani – "Mashhadi" – in reference to the Iranian town of Mashhad, the country’s holiest Shi'ite city.
Reportedly, the station is also critical of al-Sadre, broadcasting looped clips showing the Mahdi Militia infiltration of the Iraqi Army. Sadre is shown sitting down with aides discussing how many of his army can be spared to be part of the Iraqi Army. The loop concludes with al-Sadre saying he will supply two-divisions. The source of the video remains unclear.
Just to add a twist to the story, while calling for attacks against both the Americans and the Shiite Militias -- a man wearing fatigues and professing to be the station’s main commentator -- encourages other Shi'ites to join the struggle. And that’s not all. Reportedly, the commentator is himself a Shiite, according to an elderly couple in Baghdad who professed to be his parents.
Thoroughly confused? I am. Anyway, a representative of the station exuded confidence that they would remain on the air indefinitely.
"Al Zawra represents all factions of resistance against the Iranian and American occupation," he wrote. "And it is committed to broadcasting their messages and activities without any interference or discrimination."
We can’t get our troops out of this bloody mess soon enough! God damn Bush for putting them in this bizarre conspiracy in the first place!