Dave Marash, Washington-based anchor for Al-Jazeera English, said March 6 at Stony Brook University that the goal of the United States to “create in Iraq a government which is competent, survivable and friendly to our interests” is no closer to realization than it was when the Iraq war began five years ago.

The Iraqi people see the war as a rerun of the British occupation of the country in 1920, Marash said, and an extension Mideast policies they find worrisome. An Iraqi once told him, after seeing images of tanks entering Palestinian cities on Iraqi television that it “was all the same movie.”

Marash said that the Battle of Fallujah in 2004 proved difficult for U.S. forces because Iraqi allies had been told that they were battling foreign threats but found themselves confronting other Iraqis. He said U.S. Gen. Paul Eaton, now retired but in charge of the Iraqi army from 2003-04, acknowledged at one point that the Iraqis had been given the wrong idea. “We made a terrible mistake,” Eaton said, according to Marash. “We switched the deal on them.”

Iraqi soldiers learned that they would be battling their countrymen in Fallujah by watching Al-Jazeera and its rival channel, Al-Arabiya, which were broadcasting from inside the city, Marash said.

Video reports also showed extensive civilian casualties, further dispiriting Iraqi troops, Marash said. Many American officials complained that Al-Jazeera’s coverage in Fallujah – and in Iraq, generally – demonstrated an anti-American bias.

Marash said this is because many people don’t know the priorities of Al-Jazeera.

“Al-Jazeera is a global channel,” said Marash, and as such is not tied to the U.S. media agenda.

For instance, he said, when the Virginia Tech massacre took place last year, the story dominated the airwaves of American news channels but was the third most important piece on Al-Jazeera newscasts. Editors felt that while the campus massacre was significant, it did not deserve more prominence than violence in Gaza and Somalia.

He claimed that the emir of Qatar, the main financial backer of the network, is liberal-minded and believes in free speech. Marash, who is Jewish, said that while Al-Jazeera is Arab-owned, the network prides itself on presenting a balanced news product – including coverage of Israel. Al-Jazeera permits Israelis to express their point of view without “bullying” or bias.

“Journalism only works with freedom,” said Marash.