ABU DHABI — A U.S. military team has been assigned to work with Arab media in the United Arab
Emirates to counter Al Qaida's influence in the Gulf states.
The U.S. media effort has been sponsored by Central Command, Middle East Newsline reported. Officials
said the State Department intends to send an Arabic-speaking diplomat and
staff to Dubai to present the U.S. perspective on Arab television programs.
"We were essentially allowing Al Qaida and other terrorists to run
rampant with lies and propaganda," Capt. Eric Clark, a U.S. Army officer,
said. "We're late in this fight."
"We have, to our detriment, been defined by our critics," Ereli said.
Officials said the effort was meant to improve relations with Arab
news agencies in the UAE port of Dubai.
Officials said the U.S. military team has already sent a two-officer
team to Dubai Media City. The center, the largest gathering of journalists
in the Middle East, contains more than 1,000 media-related companies.
The State Department has deployed its new Arabic-language media in Dubai
Media City. They included the bureaus of Radio Sawa and Al Hurra satellite
television.
"We're filling this huge vacuum that's existed in Arab countries for
years," Clark said. "We're working to change the mind-set in the Arab world
that America is this monolithic evil. We're hoping to stop the ability of Al
Qaida to recruit future members. The pan-Arab media outlets in Dubai Media
City were like a dry sponge. They didn't have access to U.S. military
personnel for breaking stories."
