Videotape found in a pile of documents in Baghdad following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime shows a former manager of the Al Jazeera satellite channel thanking one of Saddam's sons for his support and telling him that "Al Jazeera is your channel," the Asharq Al Awsat newspaper reported yesterday. According to the report, the tape of the March 13, 2000, meeting shows former Al Jazeera manager Mohammed Jassem Al Ali telling Odai Saddam Hussein, "Al Jazeera is your channel," and Odai recalls that he proposed "some ideas" in previous meetings that led to "some changes" in political coverage. Al Jazeera dismissed Al Ali from his post shortly after the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. No reason was given for the dismissal, but many in the Arab Press speculated that Al Ali was receiving support from Saddam's government.
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