Posted on 10/18/2006 7:42:24 AM PDT by fight_truth_decay
With its Al Manar television station launched in 1991, the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah has pioneered the use of mass media as a weapon. It uses the broadcaster to recruit suicide bombers, raise money for terrorist operations, conduct pre-attack surveillance and incite violence. This fall, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas is poised to follow in Hezbollah's footsteps.
Until now, Hamas's Al Aqsa television has been broadcast only within the Gaza Strip. But this month it will begin satellite distribution via the Nilesat satellite, the Palestinian News Agency (Ramattan) reported in August. This would allow Hamas to spread its message of hatred across the Middle East, North Africa and most of Europe. Nilesat, owned by the Egyptian government, and Arabsat, majority-owned by the Saudi government, are the only two satellites still carrying Al Manar despite joint U.S.-European efforts to halt its broadcasts.
For a preview of things to come, it's worth looking into the Palestinian terror group's media operations at home. Like Hezbollah, Hamas uses its propaganda network to support terror activities, including recruiting suicide bombers, inculcating hatred, raising funds and providing direct operational support to terrorist operations.
Al Aqsa TV routinely broadcasts Hamas leaders calling for jihad, songs of incitement to murder, and videos of Hamas gunmen. Just like Hamas newspapers, magazines, and websites, Al Aqsa programs typically feature splashy stories glorifying the actions of "martyrs" and assurances that through their sacrifices the "Zionist Entity" will be destroyed.
Children are specifically targeted. Hamas produces radio and television shows and publishes an online magazine geared at preteens. A recent issue of the magazine opens with a cartoon of a smiling child riding a rocket while the previous issue glorified suicide bombers and other "martyrs" in cartoons and poetry.
Hamas websites have been used to raise money for terrorist activities, both explicitly and under the guise of "humanitarian" aid. There have been reports, citing Israeli intelligence, that Hamas field coordinators have used Voice of Al Aqsa radio broadcasts to provide terrorists with exact coordinates and trajectories to fire Qassam rockets at Israeli targets.
In short, there is no reason why the West should show more leniency toward Al Aqsa than toward Al Manar. While a few free speech activists have defended Hezbollah's television as a legitimate programmer, American and European governments have correctly identified it as a danger to free society. Washington designated Al Manar a terrorist organization, making it the first media outlet to be sanctioned under U.S. anti-terrorism laws. The European Union ruled that Al Manar contravened its broadcast laws and requested that European satellite providers stop carrying their programs. Private sector companies have taken action as well. Eight out of ten satellite providers have removed Al Manar from distribution and numerous multinational corporations have pulled more than $2 million in annual advertising from the station.
Similar steps can be taken to curb Hamas. The U.S. government should designate Al Aqsa TV as a terrorist organization. This would put strict limits on U.S. companies and banks from doing business with Al Aqsa. Multinational companies should refuse to advertise on Al Aqsa, denying it revenues that will ultimately go to support terrorist operations.
Finally, U.S. and European officials must put more pressure on the Egyptian government to deny Al Aqsa, as well as Al Manar, distribution over the Nilesat satellite. Egyptian officials cannot be interested in helping Hezbollah and Hamas radicalize their own citizens or the Arabic-speaking citizens of their European allies.
Given Al Manar's experience in the U.S. and Europe, Hamas may try to soften Al Aqsa's content to give it the veneer of a legitimate TV channel. However, policy makers and private sector executives must recognize a simple truth: Hamas is dedicated to the destruction of innocent civilians and until that changes, its television broadcasts will be used to further that goal.
A decade passed before the international community recognized the dangers posed by Hezbollah's Al Manar. Similar mistakes must not be made with Al Aqsa. Otherwise, in too many European and Middle Eastern homes, Hamas's hate TV could become the must-see fall programming for a new generation of terrorists.
Mr. Dubowitz leads the Coalition Against Terrorist Media, a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Mr. Snow, who is writing a book on Hamas media, is manager of research for FDD.
Coverage Middle East & North Africa
Payload provided by
Alcatel Espace
Telesat Canada provided the consultancy to setup the whole satellite system.
CUT from Unscripted Television Programs and
Corporate/State Concerns: The View from Nilesat
Jacob Arback, Business Research International
Arab Radio & Television (ART) and Orbit, are relatively free to experiment with new program formats and have quickly become home to the most popular talk television programs. The new private channels are not of Egyptian origin. Rather, they are owned by wealthy Saudis, Lebanese Prime Ministers and Kuwaiti investment funds. The new channels have unleashed a competitive challenge to the traditional Egyptian programming monopoly... In short, the television scene today in Egypt and the Middle East has become a blurry mix of politics, revenues and ratings with the latter two on the ascent.
Ironically, it is Saddam Hussein who may be most responsible for opening the floodgates of satellite-delivered television in the region. The power of satellites was impressively demonstrated by the terrestrial rebroadcasts of CNN’s satellite signals during the Gulf War. Egypt and Bahrain were the first states to air these live unedited news broadcasts on their State channels, a somewhat risky move, and Middle East television hasn’t been the same since.
The creation by the ERTU of two international satellite channels, the Egyptian Space Channel (ESC) and Nile TV, that carry via satellite select Egyptian programs to expatriate Arab communities in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Australia and Asia. ESC was the region’s first Arabic satellite channel, launching during the Gulf War on Arabsat. Nile TV, aimed at overseas Arab communities, came next. A few years back, Egypt’s Minister of Information, Safwat Sherif, was reportedly incensed that the BBC was planning to launch an Arabic language news service for the Middle East.
He decided that if the Europeans plan to come into our territory under Arabic cover then we would go to Europe. Nile TV was born.
Now, Hamas's hate TV, via satellite, "could become the must-see fall programming for a new generation of terrorists". Isn't technology grand?
Oh yes, let's just call is AIR JIHAD....
The New HTV..
Why is any of this still on the air ?
Money
Why don't we do a lot of things.
The U.S. government should designate Al Aqsa TV as a terrorist organization. This would put strict limits on U.S. companies and banks from doing business with Al Aqsa. Multinational companies should refuse to advertise on Al Aqsa, denying it revenues that will ultimately go to support terrorist operations.
Our war against terrorism should be rated X or have a strong advisory R rating, but seems we stamp PG on everthing!
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