Al-Jazeera to launch English-language news channel Agence France-Presse
November 14, 2006
DOHA -- Tiny gas-rich Qatar has emerged as a player on the global scene by using all its assets, not least Al-Jazeera television, which will launch an English-language news channel on Wednesday.
The Arabic station, which hit the airwaves a decade ago, shot to world fame through its exclusive coverage of the Afghanistan war in late 2001 and its broadcasting of videotapes of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden -- a success its backers hope to repeat through the new outlet, Al-Jazeera International.
Al-Jazeera "firmly put Qatar on the Arab and international map," Qatari academic Mohammad al-Misfer told Agence France-Presse.
Qataris, who number only around 150,000 out of a population of some 750,000, largely share his view, having seen their small and once unheard of country impose itself in the international arena, where its name is closely associated with Al-Jazeera.
The establishment of Al-Jazeera in 1996 was the fruit of "a wise strategic decision, which has been vindicated over time," said the board chairman of Al-Jazeera Satellite Network group, Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer al-Thani.
Al-Jazeera is "an Arab success story," said Hamad, a member of Qatar's ruling family, during celebrations marking the news channel's 10th anniversary on November 1 in the presence of Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
Although figures remain confidential, the Qatari ruler is believed to generously bankroll Al-Jazeera.
But the station has also become a "constant source of headaches" for the emirate, according to Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani.
Tunisia closed its embassy in Doha in late October in protest at what it called a "hostile campaign" by Al-Jazeera after the television aired an interview with Moncef Marzouki, an opponent of the Tunisian government, in which he called for "civil resistance."
Three weeks earlier, Jordan recalled its ambassador from Doha for consultations after Qatar, which holds a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, snubbed Amman's candidate to succeed UN chief Kofi Annan.
Saudi Arabia has not had an ambassador in Doha since recalling its envoy from the Qatari capital in 2002 when Al-Jazeera aired a debate in which participants strongly criticized the Saudi royal family.
Qatar, whose rivalry with regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia has long been an open secret, has multiplied diplomatic initiatives with a view to carving out a niche for itself on the world scene.
Most recently, the Gulf state offered to mediate between the Palestinian Authority and the Islamist Hamas movement to help them agree on a government of national unity.
In September, Qatar announced it would contribute troops to a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, which was boosted following a devastating conflict between Shiite militant group Hezbollah and Israel, with which Doha has trade links.
A close ally of Washington, Qatar hosts two US military bases, one of which served as the coalition command and control center during the 2003 Iraq war, while the other was used by the US Air Force during the 2001 war on Afghanistan and in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq.
Qatar's ambitions rest largely on its wealth as the holder of the world's third largest natural gas reserves. Doha has earmarked 150 billion dollars over 10 years for infrastructure projects, including 70 billion dollars for gas and oil facilities.
The Gulf state is also mobilizing sports to serve its ambitions. It will host the Asian Games from December 1-15 and soon afterwards will bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
