zones. These challenges prompted the Network to develop mechanisms that enhanced the means of their protection. As outlined in previous paragraphs, Al Jazeera’s journalists have paid dearly for reporting the truth from areas where other satellite channels did not go near. Its staff had a remarkably outstanding courage and fearlessness; a quality that other channels can hardly boast of. This feature strengthened its lead- ing position among international media organisations, which, on many occasions, had to rely on Al Jazeera as the only source for their report- ing. According to Tayseer Allouni, former Al Jazeera correspondent in Afghanistan, “the fact that a reporter appears live from Kabul during the Taliban rule was a miracle. Neither the international channels, nor the local channels, nor the channels of neighbouring countries such as Pakistan could work there. Al Jazeera’s decision to open the bureau in Afghanistan reflects a sound and distinct journalistic sense” (1) . No one expected a picture to come from there, adds Allouni, “no one even knew that Al Jazeera had a bureau, especially in the Western countries and the Western mass media. It was more of a surprise for all, when the war in Afghanistan began in 2001, while Al Jazeera broadcast live, the bomb- ing of Kabul and the air raids that were being launched against it, with a live commentary that puts the viewer in the heart of the event (2) . Perhaps this was the reason why Al Jazeera was targeted. In this context, Sheikh points out that some of the killings were not due to a lack of safety mea- sures. They were rather wilful premeditated actions to stop the coverage and kill the truth, as happened when Tariq Ayyub was killed in Baghdad in 2003. The bureau was bombed openly during the day, and the same was the case with the bombing of the bureau in Afghanistan (3) . It was the truth that angered the Americans, who expressed their anger by bomb- ing the bureaus, thinks Allouni, who comments on that difficult period, saying “the U.S. said repeatedly that their war in Afghanistan was sim- ilar to a surgical operation. They would only bomb military targets, Al Qaeda and Taliban forces. But the truth is that they did not distinguish between what was civilian and what was military, and between those
(1) Tayseer Allouni , personal interview , Doha, 9 September 2020.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Sheikh, personal interview, Ibid.
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