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thedrifter
06-21-07, 08:15 AM
Former Marine working for al-Jazeera pens book
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jun 20, 2007 17:09:19 EDT

A former Marine officer turned al-Jazeera correspondent has released a book detailing his work as the main liaison between the military and the controversial news network.

Josh Rushing, a former Marine public affairs officer who got out as a captain in 2004, broadcast his first story on al-Jazeera’s new English-only international channel last November.

Rushing first entered the spotlight after appearing in the documentary “Control Room,” which chronicled the press’ coverage of the run-up to the Iraq war. Rushing was a Marine spokesman at U.S. Central Command forward headquarters in Qatar, and the film featured his debates with a member of al-Jazeera.

He gained further media attention after he told the Village Voice that he blamed the U.S. media for ignoring the realities of combat.

His new book, “Mission al-Jazeera: Build a Bridge, Seek the Truth, Change the World,” chronicles the time he spent as a PAO in Qatar dealing with al-Jazeera in 2003. It also discusses the making of “Control Room” and his later decision to work for al-Jazeera English, a sister channel to al-Jazeera. The book was released June 12.

“It’s been amazing with al-Jazeera,” he said. “I can’t imagine any place giving me so much freedom.”

Thus far, Rushing said the response to his work with the network — known to broadcast images of troops captured by al-Qaida along with messages from Osama bin Laden — has been positive.

“Anyone who served with me gets it,” he said. “I haven’t lost a single friend from moving over to the media and al-Jazeera.”

As the only former U.S. service member news correspondent at al-Jazeera, Rushing said he provides a fresh perspective to the network’s mostly Muslim audience. His most recent story covered Iraq’s 2nd Infantry Division, located 60 miles south of Mosul.

“We covered things that were actually working in Iraq,” Rushing said.

Since its launch last year, al-Jazeera English hasn’t caught on in America. Rushing said the network is making a heavy investment in the Internet — hoping viewers will log on and watch online. He also pointed to Americans’ lack of interest in international news as a reason the channel has yet to take off.

“It disappoints me as a citizen that Americans are not interested in international news and more interested in stuff like Anna Nicole Smith,” Rushing said.

Ellie