Syria Analysis: How The Media is Expanding the Simplistic Narrative of "Al Qa'eda"

Video Showing Execution In Raqqa Last Week

Scott Lucas and Joanna Paraszczuk write:

For weeks, we have noted how the media and "experts" have used one paragraph from the statement of a leader of the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra --- ripping it out of context of the rest of the statement, let alone developments on the ground or an understanding of the Syria conflict --- reducing the group with the simplistic tag of "Al Qa'eda-linked" or "Al Qa'eda affiliate".

For weeks, we have tried to knock down that too-easy and misleading narrative, offering a full translation of Jabhat al-Nusra's statement and evaluating the complex political and social situation in Syria, especially in the north, and discussing how the media has created a misleading myth of "Al Qaeda" that precludes any deeper understanding of the nuanced reality on the ground in Syria and elsewhere.

However, the simplistic story that Al Qa'eda is "taking over Jabhat al-Nusra" persists.

Indeed, for some journalists, that easy narrative is no longer enough.

Click to read more ...

Syria Today: Israel Airstrikes "Hit Military Research Centre"

See also Syria Snap Analysis: What Did Israel Bomb, and Why?
Middle East Today: Iraq --- Results from Provincial Elections Inconclusive
Saturday's Syria Today: Obama Maintains Cautious Line on US Intervention

---

1900 GMT: Erdogan Denounces "Butcher" Assad

Turkish Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has delivered his strongest denunciation of President Assad, "If God permits, we will see this butcher, this murderer receive his judgement in this world...and we will praise (God) for it."

Erdogan, speaking to lawmakers and party activists in a town near Ankara, addressed Assad, "You will pay a very, very heavy price for showing your courage to the babies in the cradle, the courage you cannot show others."

Click to read more ...

Syria Live: "We Are Stronger Than Those Who Would Divide Us"

Protest in Kafranbel in Idlib Province on Friday

See also Iran- Syria-North Korea Shocker: Congress Reveals US Threatened by "Evil Love Triangle"
Syria Opinion: The Danger of Confusing "Islamists" and "Jihadists"
Egypt (and Beyond) Live: Mubarak Retrial OpensEgypt (and Beyond) Live: Mubarak Retrial Opens
Friday's Syria Live: G8 Foreign Ministers Say Little of Note After Two-Day Meeting

---

1945 GMT: Airstrike. Graphic footage has been posted which claims to be of people trying to put a fire, including burning victims, after an airstrike on Jobar in Damascus.

1915 GMT: Insurgents and "Al Qa'eda". The opposition Syrian National Coalition has chided Jabhat al-Nusra leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani for praising the ideals of Al Qa'eda head Ayman al-Zawahiri while emphasising that JAN is fighting with and for the Syrian people:

The Coalition views with utmost concern recent statements made regarding the Syrian people and the rebels....We urge Jabhat al Nusra to stay within the ranks of nationalistic Syrians, to continue its efforts in fighting the Assad regime, and in supporting and protecting the freedom of all Syrian sects.

Other factions within the insurgency have also criticised the al-Golani statement.

Click to read more ...

Syria Special: The Media Creates the "Al Qa'eda Myth"

One of the pictures accompanying the scare stories of Al Qa'eda taking control of part of the Syrian insurgency (Photo: AP)

---

This is the story of a story.

Or, rather, this is the story of the creation of a myth --- the myth that Al Qa'eda has taken over parts of the Syrian insurgency.

This is the story of how that myth --- based on failure to consider sources, let alone evaluate them; built by exaggeration and distortion --- points to the media's failure to responsibly cover important developments. More importantly, it indicates how that failure can have political consequences which are counter-productive and dangerous, contributing to poor decisions by policymakers.

Click to read more ...