“You cannot wage a war without rumors, without media, without propaganda. A military leader when he plans for war, if he doesn't put media propaganda on top of his agenda, he's a bad military.”

Samir Khader, Senior producer for Al Jazeera

As the most popular Arab television news outlet with 40 million Arab viewers, Al Jazeera is unfairly perceived in the U.S. as pro-Arab and anti-American, but this ethnocentric view is soundly disputed throughout Jehane Noujaim's Control Room. Media savvy people likely realize already that you simply cannot take the words of Donald Rumsfeld as gospel, and this behind the scenes documentary puts faces on the Qatar based journalists, who strive for far higher standards of true journalism than FOX News. Hindsight also allows us to realize that the predictions of Al Jazeera's journalists regarding Iraq's political climate are spot on—that the U.S. military victory would be easy but the aftermath treacherous.

This highly topical documentary imbeds the viewer in the shoes of the Arab journalists covering the War in Iraq, and we see how professionally the largely BBC trained journalists cover the developing stories. Certainly both news directors from MSNBC and CNN greatly respect Al Jazeera, and remark that they are the nicest guys and serve the best food. Samir Khader (quoted above) even remarks that he'd jump at the opportunity to work at FOX for the sake of his children—a chance to turn an "Arab nightmare into an American dream." And we're supposed to believe Rumsfeld when he asserts that Al Jazeera is biased and anti-American?

An opening red sunrise underscored with plaintiff chanting clarinet on top of an Iraqi rooftop identifies the melancholy setting, which begins just before U.S. forces begin their attack. We see Iraqis getting haircuts and playing dominoes before President Bush warns Saddam Hussein that he has 48 hours to evacuate the country; at that point locals debate the coming war in a local café, and it's evident that the situation is far more complex than can be solved with bombs.

The ensuing war of course becomes major international news, and the U.S. gears up at CentCom, a media friendly outpost that no so subtly attempts to tightly control the media through press conferences and offering interviews with highly coached sources. Al Jazeera star newsman Hassan Ibrahim discusses and debates behind the scenes with official U.S. Marine spokesman Lt. Josh Rushing, who does his best to promote the U.S. point of view.

To his credit, Rushing doesn't come across as hardcore as the stereotypical Marine, even listening respectfully when Ibrahim strongly questions U.S. policies about democratizing Iraq. The film even catches a turning point in Rushing's thinking when Al Jazeera is strongly reprimanded for showing dead U.S. soldiers. Rushing also thought the images reprehensible, yet recalled how he wasn't repulsed just the day before when Al Jazeera had screened pictures of innocent Iraqi citizens inadvertently killed during U.S. bombing raids. He explains how this made him realize their point of view, and how these thoughts caused him a sleepless night. A career military man, Rushing has recently left the Marines after being ordered to refuse comment about the film.

FOX News righteously promotes itself as "fair and balanced" without fooling anyone, but open minded viewers who see Control Room may have preconceptions about Al Jazeera's alleged bias forever changed. What comes across are professional journalists, who are attempting to report on a war waged on their own country while delicately balancing their coverage. Strongly criticized by partisan Iraqi insurgents as being a western tool while simultaneously being on the receiving end of targeted U.S. bombs, Al Jazeera certainly comes across as a legitimate news operation. Indeed, at one point Khader lambastes an interview producer for putting American "analyst" Jeffrey Steinberg on the air simply because the crackpot wanted to “talk about his country.” Khader upholds journalistic standards and doesn't want this kind of “shit” gaining legitimacy.

A real highlight for Americans comes during the U.S. march into central Baghdad and the toppling of Saddam's statue. Seen through local Al Jazeera eyes, we realize that this highly staged event did NOT involve hundreds of happy Iraqis (since most were too fearful to emerge from their quarters), but only a few young people (who don't even have Iraqi accents) who inexplicably "just happen" to be carrying a pre-1991 Iraqi flag to display for international TV. While proclaiming admiration for the effectiveness of the American propaganda, this scene alone should cause viewers to question the validity of all media coverage.

For those who instantly discredit Al Jazeera's credibility, consider how FOX would cover a war on American soil where heavy bombing wiped out hundreds of U.S. citizens as well as targeting FOX's Manhattan headquarters on 6th Avenue. Superbly placing us into a moderate Arab point of view, Control Room is one of the most revealing of documentaries and should be required viewing for all future journalists. These journalists are not Saddam loyalists, but are more disappointed with the unwise decisions made by the U.S. administration. As Al Jazeera translator says about the Americans: "they'll just radicalize people more and more; there'll be no more room for people like me, who speak softly and rationally.”

Hopefully, the right people in charge of Iraq policy will take heed of the central message to avoid getting bogged down into an impossible quagmire. After all, the cradle of civilization lies within Iraq while America is a relative new comer to the mix. Iraqis don't question the military power of the U.S., but rightly have plenty of evidence to question its wisdom.