Officials of Qatari-based al-Jazeera television are brushing off U-S concerns over what Washington considers biased news coverage of events following last month's terrorist attacks.
Al-Jazeera chief executive Mohammed Jassem al-Ali and news editor Ahmed Sheikh both said Saturday they operate an independent and objective all-news satellite channel.
They say they present both the U-S and Afghan points of view and never interfere with the news.
U-S officials have been concerned by what they see as al-Jazeera's overly critical coverage of the United States and the West since the September 11th attacks.
Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed this concern last week during talks in Washington with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
U-S officials say Al-Jazeera has repeatedly broadcast interviews and talk shows featuring commentators with anti-U-S bias and anti-Western views.