U.S. Government Gave Airtime to Terrorists, Official Admits

[TacticalPeek]

Source: ABC News

U.S. Government Gave Airtime to Terrorists, Official Admits

May 22, 2007 10:47 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Al Hurra television, the U.S. government's $63 million-a-year effort at public diplomacy broadcasting in the Middle East, is run by executives and officials who cannot speak Arabic, according to a senior official who oversees the program.

That might explain why critics say the service has recently been caught broadcasting terrorist messages, including an hour-long tirade on the importance of anti-Jewish violence, among other questionable pieces.

Facing tough questions before a congressional panel last week, Broadcasting Board of Governors member Joaquin Blaya admitted none of the senior news managers at the network spoke Arabic when the terrorist messages made it onto the air courtesy of U.S. taxpayer funds. Nor did Blaya himself or any of the other officials at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the network.

"How does it happen that the terrorists take over?" asked Rep. Gary L. Ackerman, D-N.Y., at a hearing last Wednesday of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee he chairs. "Is there no adult supervision?"

Read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/us_government_g.html

[xultar]

1. ...

:spray: :rofl: :rofl: :spray:

[sutz12]

2. Who could have foreseen a need for Arabic speaking management of a radio station?

I mean who would suspect that they would try to infiltrate our airwaves? I mean, we trusted them!

:sarcasm:

[Quantess]

5. LOL! How naive can they get!

:rofl:
Was FEMA involved in this one? Just kidding.

[Kagemusha]

3. Self-deleted with extreme prejudice

.

[merh]

4. I think the OP is about the screwed up US backed radio station

and it's managers that didn't think language could matter in the Middle East. You may want to take your post to another forum and not be rude to the OP by trying to turn the thread into a flaming thread.

[CGowen]

6. Bush has airtime too

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 (Watch video)

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/bushquotes/a/topbushisms2004.htm

[struggle4progress]

7. I'm cynical, and "Oops! We're incompetent" is becoming tiresome. So maybe this was deliberate.

These bastards need a certain amount of violence against civilians to keep afloat: Awk! Terrorists! is the constant justification for every abuse of power by this regime, and without an adequate supply of terrorists, the justification loses credibility.

[Eugene]

8. Update: News Chief Quits Arab Language Network

Source: Associated Press

News Chief Quits Arab Language Network

Saturday June 9, 2007 8:46 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) - The news director of a U.S.-funded
Arab language satellite television network that was accused
of airing anti-Israeli propaganda has resigned.

Larry Register, vice president of news for the Middle East
Broadcasting Networks and editorial leader of Al-Hurra
Television, claimed in a resignation letter Friday that he
was the victim of a smear campaign.

Register, a former producer at CNN, joined Al-Hurra in
October 2006. He resigned not long after the Broadcasting
Board of Governors, which funds the station, sought a
review to examine Al-Hurra's programming.

An Al-Hurra broadcast last December included a lengthy
speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that the
network later said was not screened for anti-Israel
content in advance because no supervisor spoke Arabic.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6697230,00.html

[TexasLawyer]

9. they're doing a heck of a job!!!!