Yes, you read that headline correctly. For the past 5+ years, the Bush administration has been pouring millions of dollars into an arabic language TV station that is inexplicably airing anti-American and anti-semitic content, despite repeated complaints from the State Department and Congress. Can these people get anything right? Sheesh. TPM's Andrew Tilghman has a great breakdown.
ProPublica, in a joint investigation with 60 Minutes, finds that the al-Hurra network -- "the Free One" in Arabic -- has completely failed in its initial mission to counter the influence of the Qatar-based al-Jazeera news network in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.
For starters, there are problems with the staff, which often does not have any Arabic language skills or a background in broadcast journalism: read more...