Author(s): Hugh Miles

Philosophy, Politics & Current Affairs

It's Osama bin Laden's network of choice. Saudi Arabia has accused it of 'serving up poison on a silver platter'. When the Bush Administration failed to shut it down, they decided to blow it up, and its correspondents have been killed, locked up in Guantanamo Bay, and tortured in Abu Ghraib.

With more than fifty million viewers, Al Jazeera is one of the most widely watched news channels in the world. And it's one of the most controversial. Set up by the eccentric Emir of Qatar, Al Jazeera ('the Island' in Arabic) quickly became a household name in the West after September 11th, by delivering some of the biggest scoops in television history, including airing a taped speech from Osama bin Laden . . .