Al-Qaeda leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri has “big plans” for new propaganda vehicle.Broadcasting from a secret location in Syria, Al-Qaeda and its allies now have their own 24-hour television station, Pajamas Media has learned.
Known as Al-Zawraa, Arabic for “first channel,” the station broadcasts enemy propaganda and rebroadcasts of Western anti-war material, including Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. It is not connected with Al-Jazeera.
Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, is delighted by al-Zawraa. A U.S. military intelligence officer told Pajamas Media that the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, al-Masri, “has long-term and big plans for this thing.” Previous attempts by al-Qaeda to set up media propaganda outlets have been limited to satellite radio and the Internet. Al-Zawraa, however, is seemingly well financed and striving for a broader appeal.
From that secret studio somewhere in Syria, al-Zawraa TVÂ’s signal extends to the entire Arab world thanks to a satellite owned by Egypt, Pajamas Media has learned.
Egypt is officially an ally of the United States in the war on terror. It receives more than $1 billion a year in U.S. foreign aid, more than any other country on Earth except Israel.