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When it comes to Al Jazeera and its approach to newsgathering, it’s tough to figure out where they’re coming from. You can listen to me. You can listen to Aaron Barnhart out in Kansas City. Or you can listen to Josh Rushing, a former Marine who was press liason in Iraq in the early days of the war in Iraq.

Rushing, who first caught my eye in the film “Control Room” – a documentary about how different media outlets were covering Iraq – was born in Texas. He moved up the ranks in Iraq to deal directly with the foreign press, ultimately accepting a position with Al Jazeera after he left the Armed Forces. It was clear in the film that he was committed to his stance that America was in Iraq to do good and liberate Iraqis from Saddam Hussein, but he was curious enough to ask why the Iraqi people didn’t see it the same way. As the Los Angeles Timesreported at the time:

Rushing, a Central Command spokesman assigned to escort the documentary makers during their time in Qatar, is among the film's most sympathetic characters, portrayed as a thoughtful young man moved over time by the grim reality of war.
At no point is he shown doubting the justness of the U.S. effort in Iraq, yet the film documents a budding friendship between Rushing and Al Jazeera reporter Hassan Ibrahim, and moments on camera when Rushing is wrestling with the film's central themes: war, bias and the Arab world's most powerful media outlet.

Talk about cred.

Rushing was on “The Daily Show” last night, where he discussed his military career, working for Al Jazeera, and the media.

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