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)

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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.

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Syria Live: "Crimes Against Humanity" of 1000s Killed in Airstrikes

1953 GMT: Rising Death Toll. According to the Local Coordination Committees, 90 people have been killed so far today nationwide:

25 martyrs in both Homs and Aleppo; 23 martyrs in Damascus and its Suburbs; 8 martyrs in Hama; 4 martyrs in Daraa; 2 martyrs each in Latakia and Idlib; and 1 martyr in Deir Ezzor

See our note about the casualty figures published by the LCC.

1811 GMT: Key Islamist Brigades Denounce Jabhat Al Nusra's Connections to ISI. There are many misconceptions about Jabhat al Nusra's connection to Al Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), and also other Islamists operating inside Syria. We've addressed some of those misconceptions in a separate analysis:

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Syria Feature: Regime Attacks Deliberately Target Civilians, Killing 1000s

Raw footage from the Human Rights Watch investigation:

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EA Worldview asked the report's co-author Ole Solvang, who is on the ground in Syria, whether insurgents had been present at any of the sites of airstrikes in which civilians died.

Solvang told us that while there had been some airstrikes targeting opposition fighters, those attacks did not result in the deaths of civilians. According to Solvang, such strikes were extremely rare compared to those attacks on non-combatants: "We did not document any attacks where we concluded that civilian casualties were collateral damage in the sense that they were lawful. In virtually all cases we documented the strikes did not hit any legitimate targets."

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Iran Live: Ahmadinejad "Presidential Election Will Be Political Epic"

1900 GMT: Technology Update. Tabnak, close to presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei, slammed Western news reports on Ali Razeghi, the Iranian scientist who claims to have invented a 'Time Machine'.

The Western media did not believe in the invention and "in most cases ridiculed it," Tabnak said.

Tabnak -- which publishes daily reviews of the Western press's reporting on Iran -- took particular issue with the UK's Daily Telegraph, criticizing the paper for publishing just selected quotes from an interview with Razeghi.

The UK's Independent also came under fire, with Tabnak accusing it of questioning Iranian technological advances, including its new Ghaher-313 stealth fighter jet and its sending a monkey into space.

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EA Audio Analysis: The G8, Syria, Iran, and North Korea --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24

I spoke with Monocle 24's The Globalist this morning about today's meeting of the G8, the eight leading nations trying to resolve the world's economic and political difficulties.

Listen from around the 8-minute mark on The Globalist homepage or in a pop=out window.

Topics include Syria, Iran, North Korea, and the economy as well as the general question, "Does the G8 really do anything?"

Egypt (and Beyond) Live: Qatar Extends Financial Lifeline with $3 Billion Grant

Egypt's Morsi & Qatar's Al-Thani1855 GMT: Egypt. President Morsi's has said that all legal complaints lodged against Egyptian journalists will be withdrawn.

Presidential spokesman Ihab Fahmy said that the President's decision was based on his "respect for freedom of expression."

1500 GMT: Turkey and Israel. Turkish Minister of Energy Taner Yildiz has said that it is too early to talk of energy deals with Israel despite signs of reconciliation between the two countries; however, he said Turkey was open to energy cooperation in the future.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologised to Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the slaying of nine Turkish civilians aboard a Gaza-bound ship by Israeli commandoes in May 2010.

"The reason for Israel's apology was not energy projects. But the consequence could be energy projects," Yildiz told reporters at an energy conference in Ankara.

"We have said we are not closed to these in the future. But at this stage ... it is early to talk about energy projects."

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Syria Live: Islamist Insurgents "Merging" with Al Qa'eda in Iraq?

2029 GMT: Syrian Jet Bombs Lebanon. Once again, a Syrian jet has dropped bombs in northeastern Lebanon, according to the AFP:

"A Syrian jet dropped five shells on the outskirts of Sarjal Ajram. No one was hurt," the official said.

Sarjal Ajram lies northeast of Arsal, which is home to a majority Sunni population, and whose residents support the uprising in neighbouring Syria against President Bashar al-Assad.

2019 GMT: Rebel Attack on Hama Airport. Earlier we reported that rebels were attacking Hama airport with homemade rocket launchers (see update 1733). According to Now Lebanon, which cites activists, the regime has evacuated its helicopters from the airport in response:

The activist Syrian Media Center said that regime forces moved helicopters from the under-fire airport to a base in Dair Shamil, a small Alawite-populated village west of Hama.

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Syria Video Feature: Investigating the Bombing That Killed Pro-Regime Cleric al-Bouti

Video showing the bomb that killed prominent cleric Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti --- Viewer discretion advised

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On 21 March, just weeks after he called on Syrians to join the resistance against the "terrorists" threatening Bashar al-Assad's government, Sheikh Mohamed al-Bouti was killed in an explosioninside the Iman Mosque in central Damascus.

How did a bomber manage to infiltrate a mosque in the center of Damascus amid heightened security?

Did someone on the inside allow the killer into the building?

If this was an assassination, why arrange it to kill so many others as well as al-Bouti?

Could that "collateral damage" have occurred because, far from being a precisely-planned operation, the bomber could not get close as he wanted to his target?

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Syria Video Feature: The Bombing of al-Bara (Lambert)

Filmmaker Olly Lambert, in a documentary for the Frontline series of the US Public Broadcasting Service, offers a compelling portrait of the aftermath of an October 2012 airstrike:

Iran Live: At Least 37 Killed in Earthquake in Bushehr Province

1 GMT: Cyber-Watch. The Guardian has picked up on the story --- reported by EA on Tuesday --- that the Government intends to introduce an Islamic version of Google Earth within four months.

1844 GMT: Culture Watch. Basij official Hossein Qanadian has said that the militia want to launch an Academy of Fine Arts.

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