What's on TV?

The United States and Egypt are feuding over al-Zawraa, the Iraqi Sunni insurgent TV network broadcast by Egypt's Nilesat satellite company. According to the article in Gulf News, "The Iraqi station features non-stop scenes of US troops being picked off by snipers, blown up by roadside bombs and targeted by missiles." The United States wants the government to get rid of the channel, which has recently been broadcasting old footage on a continuous loop. Egypt, however, insists the station doesn't appear to be breaking any laws, and that there are formal complaint procedures they need to go through if they do.

As charming as I find official Egypt's concern for due process and an open society, I suspect Egypt's real motive is here:

""In one montage, the Iranian flag is superimposed over the faces of Iraqi Shiite leaders - including Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. Graphic 'crawls' at the bottom of the screen contain such messages as, 'The natural place for criminals and thieves is with the mafia of Moqtada Al Sadr,' a reference to the militant Shiite militia leader."

Chalk this up as another example of an American ally in the Arab world trying to stir up anti-Shi'ite sentiment for its own policy purposes.

(Crossposted to American Footprints)