The U.S. has approved the banning of an Arab TV network from broadcasting in Iraq because it aired a message purportedly from Saddam Hussein urging violent resistance against the occupation. The U.S. appointed Iraqi Governing Council announced the ban against the network al-Arabiya on Monday and seized the station’s equipment. The head of the council, Jalal Talabani, justified the ban by stating “Saddam in our eyes is a criminal, a torturer, a war criminal, and whoever disseminates for him exposes himself to legal punishment.” The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the closure.