Qatar asked to curb Al Jazeera

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The United States warned the Persian Gulf state of Qatar yesterday that an otherwise strong relationship between the two nations is being harmed by "false" and "inflammatory" anti-American coverage of Iraq by the Qatar-based Arab television network Al Jazeera.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and other U.S. officials delivered the terse warning to a delegation headed by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabir al Thani -- the highest level at which the subject has been discussed.

"The friendship between our two nations is such that we can also talk about difficult issues that intrude in that relationship, such as the issue of the coverage of Al Jazeera, and we had candid discussions about that," Mr. Powell told reporters at the State Department.

Mr. Powell declined to say what exactly Washington wants Qatar to do to influence the editorial content of the network, in which the country's leader, Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, has the biggest financial stake.

Mr. Powell's guest, who stood beside him, also refused to address the subject.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher showed reporters several pages of what he said were "false" or "tendentious" reports Al Jazeera broadcast on April 9 from Iraq.

He quoted one of them as saying that "children are being killed and women cut to pieces" by American troops in the Sunni stronghold of Fallujah.

He said that U.S. officials in Baghdad monitor and document all Iraq coverage on the channel, as well as on other Arab-language stations such as the Dubai-based Al Arabiya. Al Jazeera's reporting is the most biased, he said.

"We have very deep concerns about Al Jazeera's broadcasts because again and again we find inaccurate, false, wrong reports that we think are designed to be inflammatory that ... make the situation more tense, more inflamed and even more dangerous for Americans, for Iraqis, for Arabs and other people who are involved, particularly in Iraq," Mr. Boucher said.

Mr. Boucher rejected criticism that Washington is trying to suppress Al Jazeera's right to free speech, saying that at issue is not freedom of the press, but abiding by journalistic standards practiced around the world.

He said the visiting Qatari officials "have a role of responsibility in the organization" and "understood the U.S. concerns."

A spokesman for Al Jazeera, Jihad Ballout, said yesterday that he was not aware of the discussions at the State Department, but that the Qatari authorities are "concerned as we are about maintaining editorial independence."

He dismissed the U.S. criticism, adding that the network reviews complaints about its coverage on a case-by-case basis.

"Most of the criticism is unwarranted," Mr. Ballout said by telephone from Doha, the capital of Qatar. "We are not involved in politics and try to report what is happening on the ground. We give ample space to various points of view on any issue."

He said the network had broadcast an interview with L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. civilian administrator of Iraq, on Monday. Mr. Powell, Mr. Boucher and other senior U.S. officials have also been interviewed by the station.

The support of Qatar, which provided a key staging area for the Iraq war last year, is crucial for U.S. policy in the region. Its delegation came to Washington to begin a "strategic dialogue" aimed at further improving the relationship.