'Control Room' Offers A Startling View Of U.S. Campaign In Iraq
By Mark Hinson
The movie, directed by Jehane Noujaim ("Startup.com"), was shot during the fateful month of March 2003. That's when George W. Bush handed down his surrender-Saddam-or-else ultimatum and then began blasting the hell out of Baghdad. Bush, by the way has called Al Jazeera "the mouthpiece of Osama (Bin Laden)."
One of the biggest differences between Al Jazeera and American news networks such as CNN and Fox News is that Al Jazeera producers do not shy away from broadcasting graphic footage of war carnage.
In the days after the first American bombs exploded along the Euphrates, Al Jazeera cameras were street level transmitting images of destroyed homes, dead children and bleeding civilians.
Anti-American propaganda or ugly reality?
It's a tough call.
It's hard to be objective when bombs are falling everywhere.
The U.S. military brass at Central Command in Qatar, of course, thinks Al Jazeera is using the airwaves to promote an anti-Bush agenda. The clean-cut press officer Lt. Josh Rushing - who comes across as a likable and level-headed guy - spends a lot of time talking one-on-one with members of the Arabic press. He seems truly interested in a give-and-take debate. Almost all the Arabs bring up America's support of Israel and the Palestinian situation. They view the Iraq war in that context, whether Americans like it or not.
Still, there's a sense of respect for Americans and the United States in the Al Jazeera newsroom.
One Al Jazeera producer, Sameer Khader, openly admits he would quit Al Jazeera in a minute to work for the openly conservative Fox News in America. He wants to send his children to good American schools.
"I would happily trade the Arab nightmare for the American dream," Khader says.
Control Room
Cast: Sameer Khader, Josh Rushing
Director: Jehane Noujaim
Rated: Not rated; contains profanity and graphic war images
Running time: 83 minutes
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