Jeff Jarvis notes a USA Today story suggesting that Iraq be wired for Wi-Fi access, allowing it to leapfrog the wired stage entirely, and also suggests he himself is ready to help build a Baghdad weblog newspaper.

This is excellent stuff, and I'm all in favor. But what I really want to see happen --- and, like, soon --- is a 24-7, Arabic language news station coming out of Baghdad. I know, I know, television is soooo old media --- but teevee is where we're losing the meme war to the Islamists and Arab nationalists who want to paint America as Evil Oppressor.

Note the approach: I don't favor shutting down Al Jazeera. I do favor countering its messages with the perspective of an Arab people recently liberated by American military power. It is my hope their perspective will be a positive one towards the U.S. --- but that's up to them.

Does anybody know if there is any money in the reconstruction budget for such a thing? And if not, why in the world not?

And hey, the station name is obvious: Baghdad Broadcasting Company. Heh.