Film exposes East-West interaction

VIRGINIA  – Rola Abdul Latif

February 2005

The difference in perspective on Middle Eastern politics between Arabs and Americans came to the forefront in the powerful independently produced documentary Control Room.

Directed by American-Egyptian filmmaker Jehane Noujeim who has lived in and experienced both worlds, the movie was well received upon its release in June 2004.

At first glance Control Room appears to be the work of an amateur, much less sophisticated than high-budget documentaries of the likes of Fahrenheit 9/11. Yet as the film progresses, it compels deep reflection onto the controversies of the Iraq war and what constitutes objective television coverage.

Control Room is about the way Arab television network Al-Jazeera covered the US-led war on Iraq. Noujaim shot the footage in two primary locations: the headquarters of Al-Jazeera and the Central Command (CentCom) of the US marines both situated in Qatar just a few miles apart.

Noujeim does a clever job selecting the main characters of the film whose opinions and discussions end up creating a much-needed balanced view of the conflicting perspectives underlying those in favor and those against the Iraq war.

There’s the chain-smoking stressed-out head of Al-Jazeera Samir Khader. Samir embodies an entire generation of disappointed and cynical Arabs who firmly distrust the US while ironically willing to send their kids to study and settle there for good.

There’s Hassan Ibrahim, the eloquent western-educated senior reporter at Al-Jazeera who endlessly argues against US actions in Iraq by making reference to US double-standard policies particularly with regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Whereas Samir and Hassan are both well-meaning, there is no doubt that Lieutenant Josh Rushing, the US marines press officer is the most likable character and the one person who is truly honest and self-critical.

Control Room does much more than just examine Al-Jazeera’s role and impact on Arab public opinion. It brings to the surface the wide discrepancy that exists between the average American citizen’s perspective on Middle East issues versus the average Arab citizen’s view.

These quite interesting observations, which are perhaps behind the unpopularity of the US in the Middle East, are tackled in the form of casual conversations between Hassan and Lieutenant Rushing. Rushing proves to be much more receptive and reflective. Despite his loyalty to the marines Corps, Rushing openly questions the very idea of war, and whether it can be good at all.

It is of no surprise that after the release of the documentary and its overall very good reviews, Rushing chose to quit the marines. His decision came after he received orders from his superiors forbidding him from carrying on expressing his personal views about the war and discussing Control Room with the media.

In a more recent interview with National Public Radio (NPR), Rushing admits that Al-Jazeera is biased in its constant anti-US stance just like Fox News is biased for the US. But he cautions that even if Al-Jazeera incites Arab hostility against the US, the US did a mistake of not engaging this TV station more rather than opposing it in the fashion they did.

In fact, the film sheds light on US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s repeated accusations of Al-Jazeera being unfair in its coverage of the war. His statements were shortly followed by a seemingly deliberate US air attack on the station’s Baghdad office, killing one of its reporters and inciting more rage among its staff who are well-known for their distrust of US foreign policy.

Perhaps the most important point the film makes is showing that much to the ignorance of Americans, the average Arab citizen always tends to link US policies in the region to America’s unwavering support of Israel. And since the majority of Arabs sympathize with Palestinians for being subject to grave injustices in the past largely overlooked by US policymakers, Arabs are simply suspicious of US meddling in Arab affairs.

The Arab way of judging US policies comes as news to Lieutenant Rushing and to many people who valued this fine piece of documentary film. Control Room thus compels many Americans to learn more about why Arabs view them the way they do.

However, from the Arab side, perhaps this rhetoric of blaming Israel and the US for all Arab tragedies is just ill-suited and unhealthy. It does not serve the purpose of political development in Arab countries and the abandonment of the prevailing repressive regimes.