At the time of his own resignation, in September 2011, Khanfar said: "I thought maybe it's good to give an example " [about Arab leaders not staying forever; to leave] while the network is at the peak of its performance. It's the right moment " We have stood with the people and support their freedom " we continue to support the fight of the youth to achieve dignity and freedom from tyranny and dictatorship' (Black and Harding 2011).
Yet Wikileaks cables showed that Khanfar had shifted Al Jazeera closer to the US Government
and had done them favours. A report in the New York Times pointed out:
"Wadah Khanfar " said that the Qatari Foreign Ministry had already provided him with two months of the American reports ... he urged American officials to keep his behind-the-scenes collaboration a secret " Mr Khanfar said in the cable that he had changed coverage at the American official's request. He said he had removed two images depicting wounded children in a hospital and a woman with a badly wounded face. When the official raised other complaints, Mr Khanfar "appeared to repress a sigh', according to the cable, but he said he would have the piece removed'. "Not immediately', he reportedly said, "because that would be talked about, but over two or three days'(Kirkpatrick 2011).
Khanfar was replaced as Al Jazeera boss by Sheik Ahmad bin Jasem bin Muhammed Al-Thani, a businessman and member of the Qatari Royal family (Kirkpatrick 2011).
Sources:
Articles:
Al Akhbar (2012) "Syria's electronic warriors hit Al Jazeera', 25 February, online: http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/4525
Al Qassemi, Sultan (2012) "Breaking the Arab News', Foreign Policy, August 2, online: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/08/02/breaking_the_arab_news
Anderson, Tim (2012) "Syria's "false flag' terrorism, Houla and the United Nations', OpEd News, 29 August, online: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Syria-s-false-flag-terro-by-Tim-Anderson-120824-423.html
Black, Ian and Luke Harding (2011) "Al Jazeera chief's surprise resignation raises fears for channel's independence', The Guardian, 20 September, online: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/sep/20/al-jazeera-chiefs-surprise-resignation
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