Qatar quells al-Jazeera

Doha, Qatar -- Tensions in the Middle East and Central Asia prompted the rulers in Qatar to persuade al-Jazeera to soften its rhetoric against Saudi Arabia.

Criticism of Saudi Arabia's rulers, as evidenced by the channel's penchant for broadcasting videotape messages from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, is a characteristic feature of the Qatar-based Arabic satellite news channel. That is until now, The New York Times said Friday.

"The gulf nations now feel they are all in the same boat, because of the threat of Iran, and the chaos of Iraq and America's weakness," said a security analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai. "So the Qataris agreed to give the Saudis assurances about al-Jazeera's coverage."

The "assurances" came from a September meeting in Riyadh with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and top leaders in Qatar, which also included al-Jazeera's board chairman.

"Orders were given not to tackle any Saudi issue without referring to the higher management," an anonymous al-Jazeera told the Times. "All dissident voices disappeared from our screens."

The employee said al-Jazeera's top management pressured coverage casting Saudi Arabia negatively to pacify Qatar but the new orders are a sign of greater political influence on the news channel.

"To improve their relations with Qatar, the Saudis wanted to silence al-Jazeera," the employee wrote. "They got what they wanted."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.