Al-Jazeera's Basra hotel bombed

The UK Guardian ^ | 04-02-03 | Jason Deans

[veronica]

A hotel in Basra being used as a base by al-Jazeera's team of correspondents in the city was shelled this morning, the Arabic TV news channel has claimed.

The Basra Sheraton, whose only guests are al-Jazeera journalists, received four direct hits this morning during a heavy artillery bombardment, according to the Qatar-based broadcaster.

No casualties were reported in the incident, but al-Jazeera said it would be writing to the Pentagon again to provide full details of the location of all its journalists and bureaux in Iraq.

"The official HQ of al-Jazeera's team covering the war on Iraq in Basra was subjected to heavy shelling in the early morning of Wednesday. Al-Jazeera is the only TV team reporting from Basra," said a spokesman for the broadcaster.

"It is not clear whether the shelling was directed solely at the Sheraton hotel. An al-Jazeera reporter in Basra, however, described the situation as 'very dangerous'," he added.

"Al-Jazeera had officially advised the Pentagon of all relevant details pertaining to its reporters covering the war on Iraq, as stipulated by relevant international practice and conventions governing reporting wars. The details included official HQs of all its reporters in Basra, Mussol and Baghdad."

The shelling of the Basra Sheraton mirrors a similar incident during the Afghan war, when al-Jazeera accused the US military of deliberately targeting its Kabul office, despite having told the Americans where its reporters were based.

In November 2001 al-Jazeera's base in the Afghan capital was destroyed by a US bomb that also damaged the nearby BBC office.

At the time the Pentagon denied it had deliberately targeted al-Jazeera, but said it could not explain why the Kabul office was hit.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Not to second guess here in an armchair sense (I'm guilty like others!), but I believe the initial strategy was to keep Iraqi TV/Radio up and running as we wanted to hijack it and use it as an infrastructure mechanism in place to broadcast our psy ops, and it also provided good BDA value. That has not happened. Instead it (along with al Jazeera) has been allowed to constantly broadcast images of Saddam urging loyalty, and aired the Shiite and Sunni top clerics in Iraq telling people if they do not support Jihad, they will go to hell. That is part of the reason we are having resistence. Only now, in the last week, are we committed to really bombing the crap out of Iraq TV. al Jazeera left unharmed, but I assume errant bombs will be lost and find their way by mistake to some al Jazeera ground satellite equipment, etc. We do have TV/Radio broadcasting capabilities into Iraq which we are doing as well. Basra TV should be ours shortly, so that is a start. We may have to destroy their infrastructure, then put a TV system in the field ourselves and broadcast the truth.

[L_Von_Mises]

No casualties were reported in the incident, but al-Jazeera said it would be writing to the Pentagon again to provide full details of the location of all its journalists and bureaux in Iraq.

I guess next time we will have a better fix on their location - LOL

[ffusco]

The incorrect assumption will be made here by our media is that this was another example of the problems for the U.S. and their missile guidance system technology.

Translation: Plausable Deniability

[101viking]

"Instead it (along with al Jazeera) has been allowed to constantly broadcast images of Saddam urging loyalty, and aired the Shiite and Sunni top clerics in Iraq telling people if they do not support Jihad, they will go to hell. That is part of the reason we are having resistence."

Or, they were allowed to broadcast the propaganda to encourage anyone with a desire to fight, to come out and pick one. Clever way to get the enemy to flush themselves out. Anyone who is backwards enough to be duped into fighting a "holy war" for a repressive dictator is likely to be trouble after the war as well. Better to flush them out and bag them now, saving our boys and girls the future headache.

[cookcounty]

If Al-Jazeera is upstairs, it's time for a surprise BASEMENT INSPECTION.