[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ds-1col clearfix\u0022\u003E\n\n  \n\n  \n  \u003Cp\u003EQatari state-funded news outlet Al Jazeera has frequently approached the Taliban with empathy, referring to the group\u2019s actions as \u201carmed resistance\u201d and framing the U.S. coalition in Afghanistan as a \u201cmilitary presence.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EMujib Mashal, \u201c\u0027Former Taliban\u0027 in the Afghan peace puzzle,\u201d Al Jazeera, January 3, 2012, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/indepth\/features\/2011\/12\/20111222194735936218.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/indepth\/features\/2011\/12\/20111222194735936218.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile discussing burgeoning Afghan opium exports in an October 2014 article, Al Jazeera noted the Taliban\u2019s \u201csuccess\u201d and \u201cstrong authority\u201d in reducing the opium trade in 2000.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EMichael Pizzi, \u201cAfghan opium cultivation hits record high, fueling Taliban insurgency,\u201d Al Jazeera, October 21, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2014\/10\/21\/afghanistan-opiumrecord.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2014\/10\/21\/afghanistan-opiumrecord.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Al Jazeera\u2019s description of the Taliban\u2019s success lies in stark contrast to its framing of the Afghan government\u2019s \u201cminimal reach and legitimacy\u201d in terms of combating Afghanistan\u2019s rural corruption and drug production.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EMichael Pizzi, \u201cAfghan opium cultivation hits record high, fueling Taliban insurgency,\u201d Al Jazeera, October 21, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2014\/10\/21\/afghanistan-opiumrecord.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2014\/10\/21\/afghanistan-opiumrecord.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAl Jazeera articles on the struggling peace process blamed the collapse of the 2013 negotiations on the Afghan government, stating that attempts \u201ccame to nothing after the Afghan government objected to fanfare surrounding the opening of a Taliban office\u201d in Qatar.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EPakistan officials say Afghan Taliban has signaled peace talk readiness,\u201d Al Jazeera, February 19, 2015, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2015\/2\/19\/pakistan-officials-say-afghan-taliban-has-signaled-peace-talk-readiness.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2015\/2\/19\/pakistan-officials-say-afghan-taliban-has-signaled-peace-talk-readiness.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen reporting on Taliban attacks, Al Jazeera is careful to omit the word \u201cterrorism\u201d from its articles (unless it is quoting an Afghan or U.S. official in a statement)\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cScores killed in attack on Peshawar school; Taliban claims responsibility,\u201d Al Jazeera, December 16, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2014\/12\/16\/scores-killed-inattackschoolinpeshawar.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2014\/12\/16\/scores-killed-inattackschoolinpeshawar.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E and instead frames the attacks as retaliation to military operations or in response to a \u201ccontested presidential election.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cTaliban claim deadly Afghanistan attack,\u201d Al Jazeera, September 4, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2014\/9\/4\/scores-dead-in-talibanattack.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2014\/9\/4\/scores-dead-in-talibanattack.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news outlet regularly carries pieces by Reuters, the Associated Press, and Agence France Presse (AFP). A December 2014 AFP article reported that approximately \u201c10,000 non-combatants [were] killed or wounded\u201d in 2014, \u201c75 percent of them by the Taliban.\u201d The article expressed the Taliban\u2019s unwillingness to negotiate for a political solution, quoting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as saying that the Taliban \u201cwould \u2018continue its Jihad and struggle so long as a single foreigner remains in Afghanistan in a military uniform.\u2019\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cTaliban claim NATO \u2018defeat\u2019 as Afghan war ends,\u201d Al Arabiya, December 29, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/english.alarabiya.net\/en\/News\/middle-east\/2014\/12\/29\/Taliban-claim-NATO-defeat-in-13-year-Afghan-war-.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/english.alarabiya.net\/en\/News\/middle-east\/2014\/12\/29\/Taliban-claim-NATO-defeat-in-13-year-Afghan-war-.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile reporting on the recent TTP attack on the primary school in Peshawar, (which resulted in more than 140 casualties, most of them children), Al Jazeera wrote that \u201cIt was not immediately clear whether some or all of the casualties were killed by the gunmen or in the ensuing battle with Pakistani security forces.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cScores killed in attack on Peshawar school; Taliban claims responsibility,\u201d Al Jazeera, December 16, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2014\/12\/16\/scores-killed-inattackschoolinpeshawar.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/america.aljazeera.com\/articles\/2014\/12\/16\/scores-killed-inattackschoolinpeshawar.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E \u003Cem\u003EAsharq al-Awsat\u003C\/em\u003E, a pan-Arab daily based in London, called it a \u201chorrific attack, carried out by a relatively small number of militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban, a Pakistani militant group trying to overthrow the government.\u201d The article also questioned whether the TTP has been crippled by the Pakistani military, or whether it will have the strength to regroup, though the article failed to reach a conclusion.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cTaliban storm Pakistani school, killing 126,\u201d Asharq Al-Awsat, December 16, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.aawsat.net\/2014\/12\/article55339527\/pakistan-minister-84-dead-in-taliban-school-attack\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.aawsat.net\/2014\/12\/article55339527\/pakistan-minister-84-dead-in-taliban-school-attack\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile covering the same attack, Al Arabiya put emphasis on the Afghan Taliban\u2019s condemnation of the killing of children and innocents in Pakistan, although the article was quick to note that the Afghan Taliban \u201coften target civilians.\u201d\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cPakistan resumes death penalty for terrorists,\u201d Al Arabiya, December 17, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/english.alarabiya.net\/en\/News\/asia\/2014\/12\/17\/Pakistan-in-mourning-for-141-killed-in-Taliban-school-.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/english.alarabiya.net\/en\/News\/asia\/2014\/12\/17\/Pakistan-in-mourning-for-141-killed-in-Taliban-school-.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E Written by an Al Arabiya staff writer, the article sought to frame the terror attack as coming from a place of weakness, stating the militants \u201cdon\u2019t have the capacity\u201d to \u201cstrike at the heart of the [Pakistani] military\u201d and instead \u201care going for soft targets.\u201d The stance of denouncing terrorism and framing militants as weak coincides with the goals of the Saudi government, which has been vocal in its condemnation of terrorism as it seeks to bolster its security against foreign and domestic opposition.\u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cPakistan resumes death penalty for terrorists,\u201d Al Arabiya, December 17, 2014, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/english.alarabiya.net\/en\/News\/asia\/2014\/12\/17\/Pakistan-in-mourning-for-141-killed-in-Taliban-school-.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/english.alarabiya.net\/en\/News\/asia\/2014\/12\/17\/Pakistan-in-mourning-for-141-killed-in-Taliban-school-.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n","dialogOptions":{"minWidth":850,"resizable":true,"modal":true,"title":"Arab Media"}},{"command":"doFootnotes"}]