Operation Desert Fox: The Day the World Discovered Al Jazeera Al Jazeera remained relatively unknown in its Arab surroundings, until Operation Desert Fox in 1998. Al Jazeera made a name for itself by exceptionally covering the military operation, similar to how CNN sin- gularly covered Operation Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991. Al Jazeera’s coverage of the U.S. and British-led Operation Desert Fox against Iraq (under the pretext of non-cooperation with the United Nations in the weapons of mass destruction investigations) was what put the new channel on the world’s radar. During this four-day operation that lasted from 16 to 19 December 1998, Al Jazeera became the principal source of news and a point of reference for other global media organisations on what was happening inside Iraq. Al Jazeera’s Baghdad bureau had a significant role in the success of this coverage. The location of the office, according to Waleed Ibrahim, “was strategically in the heart of Iraq, close to what is now known as the Green Zone, government facil- ities and the presidential palace. For this reason, Al Jazeera was able to quickly relay the events of this campaign, accomplishing an Arab and global presence that beat that of its competitors” (1) . To achieve this unique coverage, cameras were installed on the roof of the three-storey bureau. When the operation began, Al Jazeera was the first to broadcast images of the bombing as rockets fell on Iraqi government facilities. Other global networks, such as the American channels CBS and CNN , broadcast images of the shelling that had Al Jazeera’s logo on them. This was the start of global recognition and globalisation of the channel (2) . Operation Desert Fox transferred the flag and leadership to another television channel, Al Jazeera, as it was the first and only source of news and images from Baghdad and Iraq in gen- eral. Other media outlets began to ask about this new flagbearer, mon- itor its output and seek ways to collaborate with it. This is confirmed by Al Jazeera’s director at the time, Mohammad Jasim Al-Ali, “During
(1) Waleed Ibrahim, former Al Jazeera Baghdad bureau chief in an interview with Shakir Hamid, Baghdad, 18 January 2021.
(2) Ahmed Sheikh’s memoirs, Ibid.
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