{
  "id": "RL31889",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31889",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101589,
      "date": "2003-07-23",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:40:59.571544",
      "title": "The Al-Jazeera News Network: Opportunity or Challenge for U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East?",
      "summary": "Al-Jazeera, the Arab world's first all-news network was started by the Persian Gulf monarchy\nof\nQatar. It has come to be recognized as a key player in covering issues of central importance to U.S.\nforeign policy in the Middle East: the conflict in Iraq, the war on terrorism, and the\nIsraeli-Palestinian conflict. Al-Jazeera has become so publicly influential that U.S. officials now\nregularly appear on the network. Although Al-Jazeera has received praise for its uncensored format\nand for airing interviews with U.S. and Israeli officials, as well as Arab critics of the policies of Arab\ngovernments, it has drawn criticism from many observers in the United States and elsewhere for a\nperceived lack of objectivity in covering these conflicts, including the activities of Al Qaeda. For\ntheir part, officials from Al-Jazeera have claimed that they merely reflect Arab popular resentment\nof U.S. policy in the Middle East.\n  This paper provides an overview of Al-Jazeera and explores the debate surrounding its\nobjectivity. This report also analyzes Al-Jazeera's coverage of events in the Middle East,\nspecifically, its coverage of events in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel and the West Bank and Gaza\nStrip. The final section of this report discusses policy options regarding U.S. public diplomacy\nefforts in the Middle East region. This paper will be updated periodically.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31889",
          "sha1": "dd7e6c77de104748e757a289d3fc72453d3153f4",
          "filename": "files/20030723_RL31889_dd7e6c77de104748e757a289d3fc72453d3153f4.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31889",
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          "filename": "files/20030723_RL31889_263754fc6591defbc2dde7a76141678fcdca4fdc.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security"
  ]
}