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Monday, 2 June, 2003, 10:59 GMT 11:59 UK
Have your say
Al-Jazeera was broadcast on BBC Two on Sunday, 1 June, 2003 at 2100 BST.
Correspondent receives a high volume of e-mails after each programme. Only a representative number can be published following the programme. We welcome an open exchange of opinion but stress that the BBC does not necessarily subscribe to any of the comments.
It's wrong to show any bodies! We're all mature enough to know what war is, and that people die, nothing good about it! But for either side to gloat over the slain is wrong in every way, and that's what they were doing. The media have a responsibility to be informative, it doesn't need to be morbid. It should be used to relay useful information for the benefit of the public, not relay images of the dead. Funny how (in the US) the media has nudity, and language, censored a great deal, but it's ok to view the images of war, even from al-Jazeera?! Excellent documentary on the Iraq war and the role of al-Jazeera. Credit to you for the impartiallity.
Thank the heavens for BBC. Americans can no longer rely on the news and information in this country. Without access to the BBC Americans, like myself, would get nothing but a steady diet of propaganda. Dear BBC and the Correspondent team - I write in appreciation of the show aired last Sunday. It truly is refreshing to see that you have taken a brave decision and made it worthwhile to watch.
Wars are not "clean" or "surgical" and only showing the side that our government wants us to see isn't justice to journalism. It also proved a great deal that the manner in which al-Jazeera approached the coverage of the Coalitions Forces' War against Iraq was shown to be professional, accurate, truthful and sincere.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you for your balanced, professional broadcast about covering the Iraqi war. And a big thanks for the BBC as well. Keep up the good work lads.
Al-Jazeera was absolutely correct to show graphic images of dead and dying coaltion soldiers as well as Iraqi military personnel and civilians. They have shown the true face of war, rather than the sanitized presentations provided in western media. Of course the network had its own bias in the war, as did western media, but the viewer has a right to choose which stations they watch and the right to draw their own conclusions. Clearly it is important for all angles to be presented and for the individual to have the ability to draw on all prior to making their own assessment of a situation.
The fact that ANYONE would even believe ANYTHING coming out of the American media machine these days is beyond comprehension. The "truth" is that only a handful of huge corporations own the radio and TV stations that deliver the news in this country, and not suprisingly they are connected to or employed directly by the "bushies" at hand. Case in point: the US Federal Communications Commission has decided to "relax" its rules on the limit of media companies one holding parent can "control". ugh.
Henry Mordaunt, UK Thank you for showing the public the REAL truth!!!!
Isn't it a little embarrassing? For decades now, various voices within the western societies were uttering demands for democratic development in the ME. Since Jean Jaques Rousseau pointed out the essential role of a free press as the fourth pillar of a democratic state this view was broadly accepted - at least in the western world. However, seemingly, the very same voices are now constantly criticising the Qatar-based broadcaster for showing "unsuitable" materials. Admittedly, the pattern of the European struggle for a free press can hardly be compared with the developments that led to the establishment of al-Jazeera. Yet the broadcaster has a crucial role in the whole ME. For it serves large segments within the Arab societies as a "local", perceptively not western-biased, source of information. Thereby, it balances the respective local, mostly state-controlled, media as well as CNN and BBC broadcastings. To call for a tighter control of Al-Jazeera by the state of Qatar equals an appeal for curbing the necessary condition for democratic development. This must appear quite hypocritical - not only in the eyes of Arabic-speaking people. Dear Correspondent editor - Thank you for this excellent programme you have produced about al-Jazeera, and I would like to thank the BBC for broadcasting the programme.
I decided to watch the programme, despite being concerned about the footage of the dead soldiers. In the end, much to my surprise, I thought the programme was justifed in showing them - it is shown alongside other footage of dead Iraqis and dead American soldiers.
One thing that disturbed me was the constant referrals by al-Jazeera to the reporter killed in Baghdad as a 'martyr' - terrible as it was, I don't see how such a term (implying a death in the cause of Islam) could be applied. As for showing the bodies of dead servicemen in this documentary, it served absolutely no purpose and had no relevance to the rest of the programme. The pictures didn't have to be shown in the context of this programme.
Shabby, opportunistic sensationalism, no better than al-Jazeera's own dubious values and content. The BBC should be ashamed to call this programme 'journalism'.
We in the West normally get a watered version of war and death and that does not deliver the full impact of what has happened. We need to be shocked and disgusted more at what goes in in the world. As to the Correspondent programme I thought the BBC and al-Jazeera were both courageous in what they broadcast. The truth of death in war needs to be broadcast.
I felt that the international press, especially the American press, was out of line in reporting that al-Jazeera was breaking the Geneva Convention, when all the time they themselves where showing Iraqi prisioners of war and dead soliders. I am glad that you gave us the chance to see both sides of the war unlike most other channels and countries.
I found it informative, humane, impartial, enlightening and extremely poignant. Not only did it counter the perspective we seem to have gleaned over the past couple of years that somehow Al-Jazeera is complicit in the so called 'Muslim war' and the 'axis of evil', but it also shone a different and more powerful light on the nature of the second Gulf War.
I did not watch the programme as I thought it was in very bad taste of the two soldiers who were tortured out there. No thought was given to the families and friends who have suffered enough. I know war has to be reported but it doesn't have to involve soldiers' deaths.
Just wanted to thank you for sticking to your guns for last night's Al-Jazeera programme, and to congratulate you for such an interesting report. It would have been foolish to remove footage relevant to the nature of the report, and I'm very pleased that the BBC resisted attempts to do this.
People have the right to receive unbiased information, or at least have easy access to several information sources with different perspectives. Al-Jazeera has the guts to stand up to a huge military might and they have paid a dear price for it (their offices being bombed first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq can hardly be a coincidence). There should be more news channels like Al-Jazeera. I respect the BBC's commitment to open and forthright broadcasting, I in fact commend them in their approach to many subjects that have been mistreated by other not so noteworthy networks. However, in this instant I believe that you were wrong to go against the wishes of the families of these two soldiers.
Primarily because there must have been sufficient shock footage or other ways of securing, the public interest without being disrespectful to those concerned.
I am absolutely horrified that you showed pictures of dead British soldiers on your programme. What damage have you done to their friends and families? I am disgusted at you, the programme makers, and the BBC for allowing it.
Contrary to how the West has portrayed the TV company, it is not a group of immoral zealots trying to outdo the Western media. Indeed, their reporting seemed infinitely more balanced than CNN or Fox. War is ugly, disturbing and viscous. The Al-Jazeera team were simply reminding us of this. That was in contrast to the sanitised spin and drivel the coalition tried to feed us. Frankly, we need stations like Al-Jazeera to counterbalance the heavily-biased reporting we get in these situations.
Imran Khan, Canada
An excellent film that detailed the reporting of a truly independent television channel, and this was well documented in the film. Showing the way that Al-Jazeera dealt with both sides of the war enabled the viewer to form ones own opinion of their coverage. Well done BBC.
The Correspondent special on Al Jazeera was very commendable, not to mention brave. It was an example of the high standard and broad range of BBC reporting. Al Jazeera was so much part of the news during the recent war that this opportunity to witness their team at work provided much needed balance.
Tristan, Scotland
It's worth remembering that there is very little freedom of press in the Middle East - I wonder how this changes the way Al- Jazeera works. I don't believe they can be objective when they broadcast to and from oppressive dictatorships and monarchies.
Those complaining about dead British servicemen are entirely missing the point of this documentary. A simply brilliant piece of journalism. Thank you.
I can only imagine the pressure those involved in tonight's programme must have been under. Well done for tonight's programme, good balanced reporting. Although the headlines will be about the very short clip about the British dead, the question I would ask is how many people turned off the News while watching Iraq's dead during the conflict? Sadly I would not imagine that many.
I had hoped, not prayed, that the footage of both dead and injured Coalition soldiers would be appropriate to the programme. I now know this was not the case. The programme did not need to show this footage to portray a programme about an Arab television station. Indeed the BBC is no better than Al Jazeera in showing the footage originally.
Andy Renals, UK
As a former British soldier, I am adhering to a call from several sources to boycott the BBC today. I feel very strongly that the wishes of the families of the 2 soldiers, whose bodies we are told will appear on your Correspondent programme tonight, should be paramount.
I worked for several years on British TV news programs - I felt every moment with them. News must be shown - even when it is bad. People must know - and see that people die in wars. Then, maybe they will less likely to do the killing and more likely to find another way. My way will be to vote Green as often as I can.
N Ireland
I think it is totally inappropriate to show the bodies of the dead British Royal Engineers killed in Iraq. I do not see the benefit to anyone by showing this morose image. I think the families of these men have been through enough and do not need things like this bringing up again.
Thank you to all concerned for making and broadcasting your programme tonight 1st June 2003, this is a new bench mark in media freedom. Thank you
M and S Jones
Well done BBC, a very well documented programme about good news stations other than CNN and the Beeb. Let's have some more of these productions
I would like to thank the BBC for putting on such a wonderful documentary, showing the efforts of true journalism worldwide. An excellent programme - well-covered.
Dave Bowen
Disclaimer: The BBC will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. The BBC reserves the right to edit comments that are published.
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This presents broadcasters with a real dilemma balancing sensitivity to the grief of the families with bringing home the realities of the situation to the wider public
