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Article: Qatar Advances Plans To Privatize Al-Jazeera; U.S. Has Criticized Arab TV Network
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- January 31, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The government of Qatar is pushing forward with plans to privatize
al-Jazeera, the popular and controversial Arab television network
that has often drawn the ire of U.S. administration officials, a
network spokesman said.
Details of the plan are yet to be worked out and await a
feasibility report that should be completed in coming months, said
Jihad Ballout, a spokesman in the Qatari capital of Doha. Al-Jazeera
is highly popular in the Arab world but has repeatedly drawn
criticism from the Bush administration about its coverage of the war
in Iraq and other hot-button issues in the Middle East.
Pressure from U.S. officials has caused the government of Qatar,