U.S.-financed TV station aimed at Arab countries

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A U.S. government-financed satellite television station aimed at Arab viewers made its debut broadcast Saturday, airing an interview with President Bush in which he praised Iraqi determination to achieve democracy.

Al-Hurra, or The Free One, began broadcasting at 11 a.m. with footage showing windows being opened, symbolizing freedom.

Some people said the station could not improve America's image until Washington changed its policies, which many Arabs regard as biased toward Israel.

"We, Arabs, know America very well and we know its Middle East policy very well," said the managing editor of the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir, Sateh Noureddine, who did not see Al-Hurra's broadcast. "We don't need a new television station to acquaint us with the American policy or to give us a new picture of America."

The station's first item was a news briefing that began with Saturday's guerrilla attack on an Iraqi police station west of Baghdad.

It then broadcast only a few excerpts of Bush's recorded interview in which he said he was optimistic about the future of Iraq.

With Al-Hurra, U.S. officials have said they hope to counter what Bush has called "hateful propaganda that fills the airwaves in the Muslim world," referring to Qatar- and Emirates-based Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya networks.

One person who watched the first broadcast, Syrian political analyst Imad Fawzi al-Shueibi, said Al-Hurra could be a good thing if it furthers dialogue between the Arabs and America.

"If the United States wants a free channel, its diplomatic channels should be free too," al-Shueibi said.

Editor Noureddine said the only way America can improve its image in the Arab and Islamic worlds "is for America to stop its support for Arab dictatorships, stop its support for the Israeli enemy and withdraw from Iraq."

Like most Lebanese, Noureddine did not watch Al-Hurra because his satellite provider did not offer the new channel.

Mustafa Bakri, editor of the Egyptian weekly Al-Osboa, said the channel was a "means to achieve American plans to dominate and control the Arab world."

George Jabbour, a Syrian lawmaker, predicted a widespread boycott of the station, saying its launch "carries a lot of arrogance."

Al-Hurra is broadcast from the Washington area but with facilities in several capitals, including Baghdad. With a largely Arab staff, it will at first broadcast 14 hours a day, building up to 24-hour programming within a month. The station, costing about $62 million in its first year, promises a balanced approach.

Al-Hurra is the latest U.S. government project trying to reach out to Arabs. The others include the Arabic-language Radio Sawa, also overseen by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, and a slick Arabic-English magazine, "hi," which shies away from politics to inform the Arab world of American culture and life.

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On The Net:

www.bbg.gov

www.alhurra.com