Qatar and Al Jazeera

Hat tip Investigative Project on Terrorism and The Israel Group


This report comes at no surprise, but it is well worth reporting. In essence, Al Jazeera is an arm of the Qatari government operating in the US as a news agency. That is of concern given many factors including Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, among others.It concludes that Al Jazeera should register itself under the Foreign Agent Registration Act

This report was prepared by former Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) on behalf of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Washington.

https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/AK_AlJazeeraFinal_070120_v1.pdf

Some salient points from the above report:

• The ruler of Qatar, Emir Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, owns Al Jazeera.
• Qatar’s Ministry of Finance controls Al Jazeera’s budget.
• Qatari royal family members hold leadership and board positions within Al Jazeera
• Al Jazeera’s U.S. producers must send their content to “Doha” for approval.
• Qatar has acknowledged its control over Al Jazeera in binding international agreements.

"Based on the public record reviewed and assessed herein, Al Jazeera has operated in the United States for years as an agent of Qatar without registering under FARA. This report chronicles these findings and concludes that Al Jazeera must register with the DOJ and comply with FARA."

"CAIR and Al Jazeera clearly share many of the same goals, including that of whitewashing Hamas's crimes and discrediting Israel in the court of public opinion. The Ros-Lehtinen report is a valuable contribution to the ongoing unmasking of Al Jazeera and Qatar's insidious endeavors within the United States." 

"Al Jazeera was launched in 1996 at the order of Qatar’s Emir. With its headquarters in Doha, Qatar, the network now reaches approximately 310 million households in over 100 countries.  It has a team of 3,000 people around the world.  In the United States, Al Jazeera has personnel in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. In Washington, D.C., Al Jazeera has had over 100 staff credentialed for Congressional press galleries, rivaling that of most major news outlets."

"Al Jazeera English is Al Jazeera’s English-language media channel. This content is freely accessible to viewers through aljazeera.com. Streaming and on-demand video content is available in the United States on most consumer platforms, including Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, iTunes, Google Play, Netflix, Roku, and the like. AOL, Apple News, Flipboard, Google Newsstand, MSN, and Yahoo also host Al Jazeera English content. The brand extends to social media as well."  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is an article by anti-terrorism expert Steve Emerson on the report.

Fousesquawk comment: I agree that Al Jazeera should register itself under the FARA. My question here is, shouldn't this also apply to Americans who work with Al Jazeera? They not only employ American "reporters"and talking heads but various commentators and writers as well for their English speaking audience. What about them?