(1) TheQatari monarchy, which also has closely aligneditself with U.S. policy in the Persian Gulf region, was embarking upon a limited course of politicalliberalization and believed that modernizing Arab media was central to its reform effort. (6)
However, for all of the praise Al-Jazeera has received, there has been an equal amount of criticism regarding the network's perceived lack of objectivity. Issues of Concern for U.S. Foreign Policy

		Iraq

Al-Jazeera's coverage of Iraq has drawn both praise and criticism. (33)
Despite the novelty of Israeli officials on Arab television, some analysts have pointed out that, in covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Al-Jazeera follows a similar approach to its coverage ofthe war in Iraq and the war on terrorism in Afghanistan: it uses vivid, violent montages of Palestiniansuffering to introduce news segments; it employs language which describes suicide bombings as"martyrdom operations;" and it calls the Israeli army an "occupation force." Although the images of Al-Jazeera broadcasts are often disturbing and beyond the normsfound on U.S. television, proponents of Al-Jazeera claim that they present a more realistic pictureof the day-to-day hardships of life in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the present conflict. (39)
Al-Jazeera's impact on the Middle Eastern media as a whole remains unclear. With the United States heavily engaged in Iraq,Afghanistan, and elsewhere, Al-Jazeera will continue to play a role in reporting and interpreting U.S.foreign policy to the Arab world.
Al-Jazeera, the Arab world's first all-news network was started by the Persian Gulf monarchy of Qatar. It has come to be recognized as a key player in covering issues of central importance toU.S. foreign policy in the Middle East: the conflict in Iraq, the war on terrorism, and theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict. Al-Jazeera has become so publicly influential that U.S. officials nowregularly appear on the network. Although Al-Jazeera has received praise for its uncensored formatand for airing interviews with U.S. and Israeli officials, as well as Arab critics of the policies of Arabgovernments, it has drawn criticism from many observers in the United States and elsewhere for aperceived lack of objectivity in covering these conflicts, including the activities of Al Qaeda. Fortheir part, officials from Al-Jazeera have claimed that they merely reflect Arab popular resentmentof U.S. policy in the Middle East.
This paper provides an overview of Al-Jazeera and explores the debate surrounding its objectivity. This report also analyzes Al-Jazeera's coverage of events in the Middle East,specifically, its coverage of events in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel and the West Bank and GazaStrip. The final section of this report discusses policy options regarding U.S. public diplomacyefforts in the Middle East region. This paper will be updated periodically.