I wonder why the US is dealing with the Arab world as if it were an American protectorate governed by American law. Parliaments usually pass legislation to regulate national institutions, or to control certain internal activities, but this is not at all the case as far as the US Congress is concerned. It seems that the American House of Representatives has taken it upon itself to write legislation for countries not governed by the American Constitution.
A few years ago, the US Congress passed a notorious law called the Syria Accountability Act, which was devised mainly to punish Syria for alleged political misconduct. There have been several other US resolutions against other Arab countries with similar aims and, funnily enough, the Americans see them as legal "acts".
Imperialist tendencies were a hallmark of the former US administration under former president George W. Bush. It had the guts to interfere in matters such as what Arabs should learn in their schools.
Due to this interference and pressure, many Arab countries were forced to tailor their national school curricula to American tastes. But it now seems that Bush was more democratic than the current Democrat Congress.
The Obama administration, which we wrongly hailed as understanding and less interventionist, has gone even further in the campaign to legislate for Arab countries.
The sword of the American legal system will soon be brandished in the face of the Arab media, which will be told: ‘Say what we want or you will be punished by our new laws'.
It might sound like a joke, but it isn't. The US House of Representatives has adopted a bill asking the US president to report to Congress on television networks in the Middle East promoting anti-American policies. Lawmakers adopted the measure in a decisive 395-3 vote.
In six months, US President Barack Obama is supposed to report on "anti-American incitement to violence in the Middle East," among other things. "For years, media outlets in the Middle East have repeatedly published or broadcast incitements against the US and Americans," the bill claimed.
Targets
"Given the dangers such incitement poses to American soldiers and civilians in the region and at home, it is long past time for the US and other responsible nations to stop this growing threat," said Republican Gus Bilirakis, author of the bill.
The legislation calls for punitive measures for networks deemed to be fuelling terror. Among the networks mentioned are Al Aqsa, Hamas' television station, which broadcasts from Gaza, Hezbollah's Al Manar, Al Rafedeen Channel, the mouthpiece of the clerics of Iraq and Arrai TV, owned by Iraqi politician and businessman Mishaan Al Jaberi.
All said, the American bill targets Arab media in Algeria, Qatar, Syria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Yemen, the UAE and Iran.
It is true that not all Arab satellite channels are targeted by the American bill, but any channel which is seen to be not towing the American line is in danger of being punished. In short, the Arab Satellite Communications Organisation and Nilesat are both in hot water, as they could be punished if they do not take the targeted channels off the air.
It is absurdly funny. The US is telling us that not only are we not allowed to raise arms against the Israeli and American occupations of Palestine and Iraq, but we also have no right to attack them verbally. The new bill that aims to muzzle any Arab voice that opposes American policies goes against supposed US ideals such as democracy and freedom of speech.
As one Arab analyst puts it, isn't it strange that the US sees no problem with shutting down a TV station just because it criticises American policies in the region?
It is really odd that the American House of Representatives ignores the fact that the US Army is responsible for the deaths of innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Who is more deserving of punishment; the Arab satellite channels that are calling for the liberation of occupied Arab lands, or the occupiers themselves?
It seems that the US does not want a repeat of the Vietnam scenario, in which the global media played a vital role in the American defeat. Americans were able to see the atrocities committed by the US Army against the Vietnamese people, as well as the low morale of the US forces, which eventually led to the withdrawal.
The anti-occupation channels are exposing the US Army's casualties in Iraq and calling upon Iraqis to resist the American presence, which worries the occupiers. Hence their attempt now to shut down anti-American and anti-Israeli channels.
The American move also indicates that US media such as Al Hurra have failed to sell the American point of view to Arab viewers. And so the answer is to muzzle the Arab channels.
Dr Faisal Al Qasim is a Syrian journalist based in Doha.
