The film for this section is a documentary that provides a perspective on the international perception of the Iraq War, through the lens of the Al Jazeera new channel.  Al Jazerra was criticized by U.S. State Department and Pentagon officials for reporting “flat lies” and running stories with a pro-Arab bias, and condemned for frequently airing civilian causalities as well as footage of American POWs; however, the station was also criticized by Arab countries as running “propaganda” for the United States.  Today Al Jazerra continues to be the Arab world's most popular news outlet.

• Both the United States and Iraq accused Al Jazerra of showing propaganda for the other side.  
  • After watching the film, do you think that Al Jazerra was a propaganda mouthpiece, or a legitimate news organization?  Explain why?
• Al Jazerra claims that its goals are to educate people about democracy, open information, and free debate.  
  • After viewing the film, do think it is achieving its goal?  Why or why not?
• All the major news organizations covering the war were stationed at “CentCom,” the United State’s central command center.  
  • Do you think this hindered the ability of news organizations, particularly American news organization’s ability to be objective?
  • Why or why not?  Give specific scenes from the film that influenced your perception.
• At the end of the film, one of the employees of Al Jazerra says something to the effect that that the whole war is like a movie: you know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, you’re just waiting to find out what happens in the end.  
  • After watching the film, what role did the news media play in shaping the public’s conception of war?
• Al Jazerra claimed that their aim was to show that any war has human costs, something they say is sanitized in the U.S. media; however, they were condemned by British and American politicians for showing dead Iraqi bodies and American POW’s on television.  
  • Considering what the American military journalist says in the film about his reaction to Iraqi vs. American casualties being shown on TV, do you think Al Jazerra was right or wrong to show dead civilians, soldiers, and American POWs on television?  
  • How would the footage be received differently by citizens of different countries?
• Much of the end of the film centers on the death of an Al Jazerra reporter.  
• What do you think happened?  
• Was his death an accident?  
• Was he targeted and killed because he worked for Al Jazerra?  
• Why would the U.S. bomb that particular building?  
• Do you believe the U.S.’s explanation for why it happened?  
• Do you think that the bombings were good or bad for U.S. public relations in the region?  
• Could the U.S. have handled the after-effects better
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• Link for the film: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByL2k9zzvwudSndhcmFzblcyTnM/view