Al-Jazeera, propaganda or legitimate news?

"So is Al-Jazeera just propaganda? Its programming is difficult to monitor in the States, not least because of the language barrier. Like any round-the-clock network, though, the tone and content varies with the show and the subject matter. Organizations like the oft-cited Middle East Media Research Institute, based in Washington and headed by former Israeli military officer Yigal Carmon, usually translate only the most inflammatory stuff. One could paint a pretty damning picture of the American press, too, by highlighting Joe Scarborough and ignoring the Atlantic Monthly."

Al-Jazeera is becoming an important player in the information wars in an important part of the world; the oil rich middle east. Based in Qatar, one of the tiny oil soaked sheikdoms that dot the region, it has both intrigued and infuriated the Bush administration for years. Inflammatory videos of American corpses alternate with talk shows that open the doors of dialogue in a part of the world that before had some of the most tightly controlled media in the industrialized world. American policy makers recognize that Al-Jazeera is too influential to ignore, but may not be influential enough to be of help to the United States in it's quest to win 'the hearts and minds' of the Arab/Muslim peoples around the world.