Nov.7,2002: Kuwait has recently closed down AL Jazeera office in Kuwait , after the TV station had made insulting statements about Kuwait governments and it citizens. Qatar & Kuwait are heading to a diplomatic crisis because of AL Jazeera TV Station.

When al-Jazeera, the 24-hour news satellite channel based in Qatar, went on the air five years ago it was hailed as "revolutionary". It was the Arab world's first "independent" and "uncensored" voice among a sea of highly controlled, state-owned news organizations.

But since the September 11 terror attacks on the US, al-Jazeera - the only foreign broadcaster in Taliban controlled Afghanistan - has attracted condemnation, specifically from the US which claims that its coverage is biased and inflammatory. Al-Jazeera's access to the Taliban regime - it was chosen by Osama bin Laden to carry his videotaped call for a holy war as US bombs started to hit Kabul - has led to claims that it is the terrorists' mouthpiece.

When al-Jazeera first went on the air in 1996 with a $140m start-up grant from the Qatari government, it revolutionized the Arab television news industry. In a region where the only television news comes from highly government censored state-run stations, al-Jazeera (The Peninsula) quickly became the most-watched channel, winning viewers with its 24-hour independent news coverage, unbridled political debates and call-in-shows that tackled a range of sensitive, social and cultural issues. The station has openly discussed previously taboo subjects, such as police torture in Arab countries, polygamy, and the compatibility of Islam and democracy.

From the start, its programming outraged its Arab neighbors. Some have even recalled their ambassadors. (Last year Libya withdrew its ambassador from Doha in protest to a program it considered negative.) The powerful Saudis, who conform to the strict Wahabi version of Islam, are said to be irate that the freethinking programming can invade any home that has a cheap satellite dish. The Jordanian government has accused al-Jazeera of inciting violence. Yassir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, has said he was angry at the station's repeated interviews with Hamas spiritual guide Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The Syrians complain about the frequent appearances of Israeli politicians. And the Israelis repine that al-Jazeera's graphic coverage of Israeli security forces' actions inflame the Arab masses.

Despite the grievances, al-Jazeera has brought Qatar considerable political influence. Once derided as "bedouins with oil" the tiny desert kingdom on the Persian Gulf is now being courted by governments around the world hoping to have some influence over its coverage. The Qatari ruling family has kept a public distance from the station, claiming it is a private business, free of government intervention. Still, al-Jazeera has steered clear of Qatari politics and the country's sensitive internal issues.

The idea for al-Jazeera sprung from the failure of the proposed London-based BBC TV Arabic service. The BBC's approach to reporting was not to the liking of the Saudi part owners and the partnership collapsed. Qatar's royal family considered buying the Saudi interest, until Sheikh bin Khalifa al-Thani, less than a year after deposing his father as leader, decided to set up the station independently in Doha. The Ministry of Information was closed and most of the journalists, editors and broadcasters from the now-defunct Arabic BBC service were persuaded to relocate to Doha.

Al-Jazeera has more than 50 correspondents working in 31 countries. Its editorial staff is a cross section of the Middle East: Syrians, Palestinians, Lebanese, Egyptians and Iraqis. The bearded face of Taysir Alloumi, its Syrian-born correspondent in Kabul, has become a fixture in the Arab world.

As the US-led attack on Afghanistan continues and America struggles to hold a fractious alliance of western and Arab states together, victory in the propaganda war has become crucial. But the information war is proving tougher than destroying airfields in Afghanistan. With access to a large and powerful audience in the Arabic-speaking world, al-Jazeera looks set to remain a central player.