Is former Marine helping anti-U.S. sentiment?

Jamie Gangel National Correspondent • Profile

The controversial Arab network recently announced that it had hired none other than a former U.S. Marine captain to report for a new English language news channel. “Today” national correspondent Jamie Gangel has the first TV interview with the Marine who has found himself at the center of a debate over whether he is being used for propaganda.

With 30 to 50 million viewers in the Arab world, Al-Jazeera is both the most popular and controversial Arab language network. But in this country, Al-Jazeera is best known for messages from Osama Bin Laden. And while top Bush administration officials have done interviews with the network, they have also called it biased, inflammatory and dangerous. Now the network is getting attention for one of its new stars, former United States Marine Josh Rushing, who has accepted a position at its new English-language news channel, which will begin broadcasting in the spring. 

Josh Rushing:  My personal goal is I want to represent to the world the best of what I think America stands for. When I travel the world, they have such harsh opinions about us right now, and I hope when they see me maybe it's someone they can relate to because I'm willing to listen.

Jamie Gangel:  You think you're going to promote a pro-American message?

Rushing:  Absolutely. I've made no attempt to separate myself from my past … of being a Marine of 14 years, a guy from Texas, a blue-eyed American son.

Rushing, a former public affairs officer, was considered talented and smart by his Marine Corps superiors, but conservative critics are saying the 33-year-old ex-Marine is being used.

“He's being naive in thinking that he is going to have any real impact over at Al-Jazeera. He's going to be an American face, perhaps a punching bag that they can use in their news reports to say, ‘Hey, we're balanced. Look, we've got an American on the air,’ ” says Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy in Media.

Rushing insists he knows what he is getting into. He says, “They are not hiring me for my journalistic skills, they're hiring me to represent my viewpoint … as an on-air personality. So do I think I'm being naive? No.”

So why did Al-Jazeera pick him? Rushing admits it was because of his appearance in the movie, "Control Room."

Last year, Rushing became a minor celebrity as the accidental star of the documentary — a sympathetic behind-the-scenes look at Al-Jazeera's coverage of the Iraq war.

In the movie, Rushing is seen in his job as a liaison to the Arab language network.

At times he is critical of coverage. But he also develops a respect for the news organization, and he remains quick to defend Al-Jazeera today.

Rushing:  If I wrote off Al-Jazeera because they're biased, I'm afraid I'd have to write off not just American media, but maybe the world's media. Show me a news station that doesn't have some kind of biasness in it. I think it's impossible.

Gangel:  And to the naysayers? The people who think you're a fool and you're getting used?

Rushing:  Who cares? I mean the Marines taught me do the right thing for the right reason. Damn the consequences. Everyone's going to have their opinions, and if you're doing anything worthwhile, you're going to have critics.

Rushing admits he doesn't yet know exactly what he'll be doing, but thinks he'll be involved in studio work and field reporting. The network goes on the air next spring and still has not announced what U.S. cable company will carry it.

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