Treasury Designates Al-Zawraa TV

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Yesterday Matthew Levitt noted the Treasury Department's designation of three Iranian individuals for fueling the insurgency in Iraq. In addition, Treasury designated Mishan al-Jabouri and the television station he runs, Al-Zawraa TV. I have been following al-Zawraa, which serves as a mouthpiece for the Islamic Army of Iraq, for well over a year. In January 2007, Nick Grace and I published an article about al-Zawraa in the Daily Standard describing its programming content:

Al-Zawraa's content is heavy with insurgent propaganda, including audio messages from Islamic Army of Iraq spokesman Dr. Ali al-Na'ami and footage of the group's operations. The station calls for violence against both Shia Iraqis and the Iraqi government. According to Marwan Soliman, the station's anchors appear in military fatigues to rail against the Iraqi government while news crawls urge viewers to support the Islamic Army of Iraq and "help liberate Iraq from the occupying U.S. and Iranian forces."

In Fallujah's Government Center, military analyst Bill Roggio, who was embedded with the Military Transition Team, watched Al-Zawraa with a team of Army translators. Roggio reported on his blog that the station broadcast songs mourning Iraqi victims of the "U.S. occupiers," and that images featured on Al-Zawraa included "destroyed mosques, dead women and children, women weeping of the death of their family, bloodstained floors, the destruction of U.S. humvees and armored vehicles, and insurgents firing mortars, RPGs, rockets and AK-47s."

Roggio told us that the station's strategic role for insurgent and al Qaeda information operations is clear: "Al-Zawraa is designed to recruit for and prolong the insurgency in Iraq. It openly espouses violence, particularly against the Shia, but also against the Iraqi government and security forces and Coalition troops."

Our article was called "Al Qaeda TV." The title was based on the Islamic Army of Iraq's relationship with the Mujahideen Shura Council umbrella organization, which included al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). The alliance between al-Zawraa and AQI did not hold up over time, as al-Jabouri has launched some scathing attacks against AQI on the air. I spoke with Bill Roggio following al-Zawraa's designation, and he stated: "Treasury’s designation of Mishan al-Jabouri is long overdue. While Jabouri was useful to the Coalition effort when he openly criticized al-Qaeda in Iraq for its attacks on Sunni insurgent groups, he refused to take the next step and participate in reconciliation via the Awakening or other mechanisms. He continued to produce propaganda fomenting violence against American soldiers and the government of Iraq."

Other writings about al-Zawraa:

• A Pajamas Media article that Nick Grace and I produced about al-Zawraa
• My CTB post on Arabsat beginning to broadcast al-Zawraa
• Andy Cochran's CTB post on Egypt's Nilesat picking up al-Zawraa
• Bill Roggio's report on al-Zawraa from his embed in Iraq
• Roggio's correspondence with Jabouri following his report
  

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