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Originally posted by swissmiss04
Since I sparked interest on the whole translator thing (which still wigs me out, sorry!) here's another question: Would you not think that if you were a fairly reputable news organization (like CNN) you would make darn sure and certain that your translators had "the skill" to interpret. And yes there are dialects within the Arabic language (as in all languages). There's the dialect from the Magrihb countries (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), ECA (Egyptian Colloquial Arabic), Gulf dialect (Yemen, Omar, Bahrain, Saudi, etc) and then MSA (modern standard arabic). MSA is what is universally understood and used in the Arab world, particularly by government and media figures. From what little I heard of him, none of his language was dialectic in nature. And sorry for the language lesson....I guess if it's ever a question on Jeopardy you'll thank me. 
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We'll I would have to say that in the case of CNN it has a lot to do with ratings.... now hear me out. If you turn to CNN all they talk about it the showdown with Iraq (roughly 80% of coverage). Alot of people turn to CNN for their news and as long as you keep an "air" of tension there is a spike in the numbers of viewers as well as viewing time (this was mention in a sociology course that I sat in on). While i'm not saying that it is intentional, there might be a sub-consious effort to keep the story "riveting". Also you have to remember that the CNN you watch is broadcast only in Canada and the US... the feed to international is marganially different.
Now being in Canada i'm lucky enough to get not only US broadcasts but also Canadian and British (BBC) braodcasts. Just from watching I have noticed that the US newscasts are always more beligerent in their tone and "sound-bites". In the case of translations; the CBC, BBC, and International CNN usually differ signifacntly from the US CNN - the translations are usually alot more "diplomatic sounding" and teand to not be so harsh... which I tend to believe is closer to that actual language. Afterall even if the regime is headed by a raving lunatic, you still have to have a diplomatic or proganda staff that is somewhat competent.