Jazeera Meets Its Viewers

Some 2000 Iraqi-Americans danced in the streets of Dearborn, Michigan Wednesday, celebrating events in Baghdad. The spontaneous party was friendly and peaceful, until:

At one point the crowd turned on a three-person television crew from the Arab language news network Al-Jazeera, crowding around them and chanting "Down, down Al-Jazeera!" Many in the crowd waved their hands in the air—their thumbs pointed down—and accused the network of being in cahoots with Saddam's regime….

The protest grew tense as it dragged on for 45 minutes, with at least seven police officers having to protect the Al-Jazeera reporter, producer and cameraman. The police quietly suggested that the crew duck into a nearby satellite truck and they complied….

Al-Jazeera reporter, Nedam Mahdawi, told CNN, "We came here to cover a celebration here, and I am very surprised to see their anger."