BOOK REVIEWS

Mission Al-Jazeera

Build a Bridge, Seek the Truth, Change the World

Author: Josh Rushing (with Sean Elder)
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (June 2007)

Reviewed by Adel Iskandar
 

Of the many accounts about those who have shifted gears, switched uniforms or crossed the divide between one camp and the other, few have been as intriguing or captivating as that of a young Marine Captain-turned-Al-Jazeera journalist--Josh Rushing. He is by no means the first military personality to have gone into journalism, or the first public affairs officer to try his hand at news. What makes Rushing's story unique though is the manner in which a military spokesperson, through happenstance or design, found himself at the cusp of an historical juncture and an epic battle of information which thrust him into the spotlight. His recent book, Mission Al-Jazeera, chronicles this experience and is a refreshing addition to some 15 volumes published about Al-Jazeera in just five years (references listed below).

I met Rushing in a room full of military personnel during an advanced communication course at his alma mater the Defence Information School (DINFOS) in Fort Meade, Maryland on a late afternoon in April, 2006. He had just given a rousing presentation about his experience both in uniform and in-front of an Al-Jazeera camera to an audience of mid-range and high-level officials. Explaining why he decided to cross what many in attendance must’ve seen as an ideological gulf, the reaction varied from complete agreement to open hostility. Throughout the session, I was struck most by Rushing’s amicable personality and sound rationale in this environment. He spoke like a seasoned diplomat sans the political agenda. It was apparent he had grown completely accustomed to unnervingly hostile environments and could navigate through them effortlessly. There was no doubt why an Arab-based news network so often vilified in the United States would recruit Rushing as its voice to and from America.

A few months after our meeting, his book, Mission Al-Jazeera, hit the stands with much anticipation given it’s the only biographical account from an employee of the network and the first exposé on Al-Jazeera English (published just seven months after the channel’s launch). Despite this, the actual draw for the book among American readers is the author himself. Given that American audiences know little about the conduct of US military public affairs or Arab media, misconceptions and stereotypes about each abound. However, in public consciousness, the two appear on opposite ends of a long spectrum--from military propaganda to Terrorism TV. To go from one pole to the other demands an explanation. Mission Al-Jazeera offers this explanation while at the same time interrogating the simplicity of that very spectrum.

Rushing grew up in a Texan family of service men and women. The importance of giving back to the community, the country and humanity were instilled in him at a very early age. His father, who had served in the military, often imparted to young Josh the values of duty and independence. Throughout childhood and adolescence, Josh showed the first signs of defying authority or at least taking a jab at it. Recruited by an Arab-American officer in the Marines, Rushing joined the Corps for reasons all his own. He was looking for a “hard time and a profound transformation.” In a series of fateful twists in the course of his life, this would happen some 15 years later. During his time in the Corps, despite being drawn to the structured regimented lifestyle, he managed to ruffle some feathers along the way. While the boot camp drills tried to efface any remnant of individuality among Marine Corps recruits, Rushing never shied from demonstrating his.

Staying on Course

With the Iraq war on the doorsteps, Rushing was sent off to Doha as a public affairs officer (PAO) at the military’s strategic communication headquarters, a $200,000 stage set at Central Command (CentComm). Once combat operations were underway, both on the ground in Iraq and on the airwaves, the US military made every attempt to ensure their story was told. In an environment where information control was becoming increasingly difficult, public affairs officers such as Rushing were assigned to communicate with reporters. To meet the insatiable demand for news information by global television networks, CentCom teamed its officers with specific news stations. Noticing Rushing's apparent cosiness with some of the Arab news reporters, he was asked to liaison with the Arab press. While honoured to have been given this disproportionate responsibility, Rushing was both surprised and dismayed of the nonchalant and seemingly haphazard way by which the military and top politicians approached the Arab press. Given the millions of dollars spent on public diplomacy, perhaps some careful consideration of who would communicate with the entire Arab public at large would be fitting.

This time posed immense challenges for Rushing and he reserves his harshest criticism to Jim Wilkinson, a republican operative given charge of communication at CentCom. Wilkinson represented how political interests trumped military interests during this war. Throughout the first months of the war in Iraq, the Bush administration made every attempt to ensure narrative harmony from the highest offices at the White House to its most junior military press liaisons. The unequivocally consistent political message was not perceived as bias or spin. Instead it was expressed as “context.” A story or a fact without context, according to Wilkinson, was rendered meaningless. 

It was this very "context" that Rushing provided in his early press briefings. The standardized discursive repertoire than Norman Solomon extensively charts and describes in his book War Made Easy was being practiced to the t by most public affairs officers including Rushing himself. He recalls comparing the enemy to Hitler, the violations of international law, human rights, inferior political systems etc all as justifications for the Iraq war in the face of detractors. This illuminated to Rushing the inner workings of message construction and information coherency during conflict situations, a process he participated in himself.

Yet in his communication with the Arab press, he immediately realized the importance of investing more in getting the military's message out to and addressing the concerns of Arab audiences. He made several attempts to relay this to his superiors, all of which were rebuffed. When he encouraged CentCom commander General Tommy Franks to call on an Al-Jazeera reporter during a press conference (if solely as a positive gesture to the Arab media), the general replied, "Sure, right after I rip off his head and shit in his throat." Rushing would try to make his case to his colleagues, but to little avail. His arguments to be more forthcoming towards the Arab press were seen as traitorous and on one occasion he was challenged to check which side of the conflict he was on. This fit into Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's overt disdain for the media, not simply those that utter in Arabic. The former secretary is known to have publicly reprimanded reporters over their coverage of the military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Following his time in Doha, Rushing was assigned to the military’s Hollywood liaison office in Los Angeles where he spent most of his time working with the television series JAG. Far from the "real" action and unable to effect actual change, Rushing was growing increasingly disenchanted. This situation was interrupted by flurry of communiqués from friends, colleagues and superiors about a film featured at Sundance which he had apparently played a part in. From a startlingly candid 45-minute interview he gave to an Al-Jazeera reporter back in Doha (and filmed by a crew led by Egyptian-American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim), the unsuspecting Rushing comes out the unlikely hero of the major critically-acclaimed documentary, Control Room. To American audiences, Rushing begins as a typical PAO who tows the official line, only to metamorphosize by the end of the film into an apologetic voice.  

Rushing appeared to have broken from official military script in the film and the US media picked up on it. The months that followed would amount to the “hard times and profound transformation” which he always sought from the Marines. Unable to adequately manage Rushing’s “story,” the military placed a moratorium on his and his family’s communication with the news media. This was when he decided his mission could no longer be accomplished in the status quo. At the end of the day, the drive to pursue a life-changing experience drove him out of the institution that instilled this very principle in him. His departure from the military ranks was not one of disdain but appreciation. Throughout the manuscript, he is unrepentant in crediting the Marines for inspiring transformation in him. In the infinite irony of the situation, it is the very transformation of Rushing witnessed in Control Room that eventually unfolds in his life--a screenplay being performed in reality.

But for Rushing, the way war is perceived depends on credibility. This can only be accomplished if the standards and regulations that govern the conduct of war are met. This presents specific challenges for the rules of engagement once combatants disengage from these. Credibility in this case becomes more about saying things as they are. For example, Rushing believes references to the Geneva Conventions and the debate surrounding human rights violations at times of war operate simply as political tools to justify the moral superiority of one party over the other. In reality, when military operations are underway, soldiers don’t expect to be treated with the courtesies of the Convention’s rules, so the moral high ground is often very shaky. And while the military is responsible for protecting its own, the media’s job is to ask questions.  

Dereliction of Duty

Hence, Rushing is most critical of the state of American journalism. During the early days of the Iraq war, watchdog journalism and press freedom were viewed by many as questionable or even threatening. He says that “[t]he nation was becoming one blinded by fear, seeing enemies where there weren't any, and treating honest inquiry--the kind guaranteed by the Constitution--with suspicion or hostility."

At a time when the United States was projecting the values of unhindered free speech and expression, various actions by the government in respect to the Middle East generally and Iraq specifically undermined the moral authority of such claims. Rushing goes as far as declaring that the US has “lost ground on these freedoms” and holds the American press in “blatant dereliction of duty.” Few journalists in 2003 were outside the cocoon of the machinery of American war information. But even when US reporters are doing their job, American audiences and ratings favour Grey’s Anatomy and American Idol. Rushing bemoans the cultural insularity of America. He argues that "[b]ecause of geographical and geopolitical circumstances, Americans can afford the luxury of isolationism, which often breeds the poison of provincialism."

American media have submitted to what they have turned into a mantra; audiences in the US are simply uninterested in international news. For this reason, the hiring and firing of top US officials and representatives in Iraq (which has become a frequent affair given the dire circumstances and the slow progress) receives little coverage in the American press, but makes for top headlines everywhere else. The situation in Zimbabwe, South American political transitions, and the battles in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon get little consistent coverage in the US media. In these increasingly global times, US news media have settled too comfortable in their domesticity.

It wasn’t long after his Marine life came to an end that Rushing received an offer from the station that gave him his notoriety. Al-Jazeera was hoping to break new ground by being the first to broadcast in HDTV, live on the web, from four broadcast centers around the globe with an astounding start-up fee in the range of $1 billion. Rushing accepted and the transformation was well underway.

The New Journalism

News values differ between Al-Jazeera and its American counterparts. While the latter obsess over profit and cater to their advertisers by submitted to soundbited segments, editorial decisions at Al-Jazeera may seem absurd. An example of this is Rushing’s recount of the Arabic station’s Washington Bureau Chief Abdelrahim Foukara spending four and half hours on air reading the full report of the UN investigation into Lebanese PM and billionaire Rafik Hariri. This underlies the differing priorities of US commercial media and its Arab counterpart.

Editorial meetings at Al-Jazeera English feature little to no discussion about competitors and hardly any mention of ratings. Instead, Rushing says the gauge of an important story tends to be two overarching questions “what can we add to the coverage that exists?” and “who does not have a voice in the story?” So in essence, the desire to communicate the underprivileged angles in a story appears to be the driving force behind the Al-Jazeera English formula with the hope of diversifying news content.

This is the Al-Jazeera that Rushing chose to join—a network whose English outfit aims to both internationalize and indigenize news. While the most extensive international bureau system, its reporters are often selected from the countries they are assigned to cover. For this reason, Rushing’s investigations for the network have covered stories that portray America both as dream and myth alike. One exposé focused on Anacostia, an historic neighbourhood district in Washington, DC which has suffered a tremendous depression post-WWII. A majority African-American enclave, Anacostia has been the site of much racial tensions and economic unrest and has been left to wilt in the shadow of the America’s majestic capital. Other episodes feature reports on how Arab and Muslim actors in Hollywood are combating narrowcasting and stereotyping. Another segment, Spin, features Rushing addressing political disinformation and interrogating footage of his own time as PAO on various stations. This may draw the ire of some right-wing commentators and bloggers, arguing that his warts-and-all coverage undermines America’s image in the world. When accused of adding fodder to the canons of anti-Americanism, Rushing coolly responds that the only way to project a positive view of the US is to be truthful and confront the problems that mire the nation.

Just prior to AJE’s launch, its parent station (now and extensive network of channels covering documentaries, sports, a C-SPAN-like outfit, a children’s network and others) celebrated its 10 year anniversary. Rushing was onsite in Doha to witness how a network whose global reach has expanded to near epic proportions memorializing both itself and the journalistic profession. Its fallen or incarcerated employees are eulogized, celebrated and advocated for, its accomplishments recited and committed to memory, and its future is envisioned (much like the military establishment Rush was so familiar with). From a Wall of Freedom honouring fallen journalists (heroes of the profession) to special classical orchestral compositions by renowned Arab composers, Al-Jazeera marked it birthday, like it does everything, dramatically and extravagantly. This was a unique time for Rushing to meet the person whose brainchild brought him there.   

His brief interaction with the Emir Hamad bin Khalife al-Thani in the newsroom was awkward and puzzling. After elaborating on his segment Spin to the Emir, Sheikh Hamad simply turned around and walked off without any remarks. Had he said too much or too little? Does this mean anything as far as the political alliances between Qatar and the United States? These questions have no answers, yet this may not be the last time Rushing will encounter a moment of intercultural deadlock. For a young and enterprising journalist attempting to build bridges across these cultural divides, everyday is a new terrain filled with novel challenges, from the exhilarating to the disheartening, from the enchanting to the disparaging.

On Packaging America

When he learned that a colleague was killed in Iraq, Rushing began questioning the very premise of war. His friend had died to serve an idea of America, one that Rushing felt “resembled the actual state of America less and less." Currently, the US government’s treatment of democratic reform in the region is bifurcated. Elected parties like Hamas are boycotted and embargoed while long-time monarchies are treated as brethren. Rushing argues that this inconsistency threatens any message of reform the US hopes to advocate in the region and to Arab looks like a classic case of hypocrisy.

To dispel the image of hypocrisy, the administration has relied on corporate advertising executives to present the US to the Arab and Muslim worlds. This has so far proven ineffective. In light of former public diplomacy’s undersecretary Charlotte Beers being appointed to this high office, Rushing candidly states that “Uncle Sam proved to be a tougher sell than Uncle Ben.” America’s Middle East policy and a box of 5-minute rice are not one and the same!

What then are Rushing’s solutions for the military in its quest to tell its story? He is adamant about avoiding the obsession with “good stories” from Iraq. The neglect of the bad story is not only disingenuous to audiences but also a fabrication of what war is—a bad story. He argues that the military, government, and media should not be afraid or shy away from telling the bad story with honesty. Despite his criticism, Rushing’s arguments appeal to the very integrity he was endowed with while in the ranks of the military. Public affairs officers in the military act as a link to help relay and information to the public and news media, which he argues differs greatly from acting as public relations for an administration, the military or a war.

As the seventh hire for Al-Jazeera English, Rushing’s coworkers jokingly talk about his agent 007 status. Considering his complex background and urgent cause, the role of an international man of mystery is fitting. For his previous assignment, Rushing was woefully ill-equipped. He boarded his plane en route to his first Marines assignment in Qatar armed with little more than a copy of Bernard Lewis' What Went Wrong, The Complete Idiots Guide to Iraq and Arabic on audiotapes. This is hardly a Bond-esque inventory.

In his new capacity, Rushing has already won fans for the station’s agenda of unhindered truth. Mission Al-Jazeera is a glaring example of how he is prepared to make honest admissions regardless of consequence, including about his time at CentCom where he explains his job was part of the effort “to control information, shape it, and overload the airwaves with it." These are doses of truth, shaken not stirred. In a time when the language of “staying the course” reigns supreme, Rushing offers an example in transformation: While it takes honour to uphold what one believes is true, it takes courage to admit mistakes along the course.

Certainly, Rushing is interested in the bigger questions in life. His belief that there is a jihad today for America’s soul and values has committed him to protect the principles of freedom, social justice, inalienable liberties, free expression, and the global concern for humanity. As he continues to build bridges between the Arab world and United States, Rushing’s mission Al-Jazeera of internationalizing news in the US and offering a nuanced America to the rest of the world seems less like a mission impossible.

Books on Al-Jazeera:

El-Nawawy, M, & Iskandar, A. (2002). How the Free Arab News Network Scooped the World and Changed the Middle East. Boulder, CO: Westview Press

El-Nawawy, M, & Iskandar, A. (2003). The Story of the Network that is Rattling Governments and Redefining Modern Journalism. New York: Basic Books.

Lamloum, O. (2004). Al-Jazira, miroir rebelle et ambigu du monde arabe. La Découverte 

Miles, H. (2005). Al-Jazeera: The Inside Story of the Arab News Channel that is Changing the West. New York: Grove.

Zayani, M. (2005). The Al-Jazeera Phenomenon: Critical Perspectives on New Arab Media. Paradigm.

de Gouveia, P.F. (2005). An African Al-Jazeera? Mass Media and the African Renaissance. Foreign Policy Centre

Al- Mikhlafy, A.J. (2005). Al-Jazeera, Ein regionaler Spieler auf globaler Medienbühne. Schüren Presseverlag

Della Ratta, D. (2005), Al Jazeera. Media e società arabe nel nuovo millennio. Bruno Mondadori

Rinnawi, K. (2006). Instant Nationalism: McArabism, al-Jazeera, and Transnational Media in the Arab World. United Press of America.

Qusaibaty, O. (2006). Media Under Pressure: Al-Jazeera Toeing the Red Lines. BookSurge Publishing.

Tatham, S. (2006). Losing Arab Hearts and Minds: The Coalition, Al-Jazeera and Muslim Public Opinion. Front Street Press

Lynch, M. (2006). Voices of the New Arab Public: Iraq, Al-Jazeera, and Middle East Politics Today. Columbia University Press.

Lindenberg, S. (2006). Al-Jazeera: Der arabische Satellitensender und das internationale Nachrichtengesschäft. Vdm Verlag Dr. Müller

Zayani, M., & Sahraoui, S. (2007). The Culture of Al Jazeera: Inside an Arab Media Giant. New York: McFarland & Co.

Dr. Adel Iskandar is a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS), Georgetown University, Washington, DC.

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