http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1648988,00.html
Claims that George Bush planned to bomb the Arabic TV news station al-Jazeera have fuelled concerns that an attack on the broadcaster's Baghdad offices during the war on Iraq was deliberate. An international journalists group today demanded "complete disclosure" from the British and American governments over reports that the US considered attacking the al-Jazeera HQ in the Qatar capital, Doha. The International Federation of Journalists claimed that 16 journalists and other media staff have died at the hands of US forces in Iraq, adding that the deaths had not been properly investigated. Al-Jazeera cameraman Tarek Ayoub was killed when the station's Baghdad office was bombed during a US air raid on April 8 2003. On the same day a US tank shelled the Palestine hotel in the Iraqi capital, killing two other journalists. "Reports that George Bush and Tony Blair discussed a plan to bomb al-Jazeera reinforce concerns that the US attack in Baghdad on April 8 [2003] was deliberate targeting of the media," said Aidan White, the general secretary of the IFJ. "If that is the case then the US is guilty of a gross violation of international humanitarian law and on the face of it the murder of an innocent journalist. "The evidence is stacking up to suggest that the US decided to take out al-Jazeera in Baghdad, as a warning not only to them but to other media about their coverage. If true, it is an absolute scandal that the US administration can regard the staff of al-Jazeera as a bunch of terrorists and a legitimate target." Under the front page headline "Bush plots to bomb his ally", the Daily Mirror claimed yesterday a leaked memo revealed that the US president last year discussed plans to attack al-Jazeera's Qatar HQ with Mr Blair. The Baghdad bombing of 2003 was the second attack by American forces on the offices of al-Jazeera. In 2001 the station's Kabul office was hit by two "smart" bombs in an attack that almost wrecked the nearby BBC bureau. Al-Jazeera said it had given the location of its offices in both Kabul and Baghdad to the authorities in Washington, but it had still been attacked. "We have been campaigning vigorously for an independent inquiry into what happened in Baghdad on April 8 [2003]. Now is the time for the US to take responsibility and tell the world what actually happened," said Mr White. "The public has a right to know whether politicians would seriously consider killing journalists in order to stifle independent or critical voices. In this particular case the family, friends and colleagues of the victim also have a right to justice. "Incidents in which journalists are killed by combatants in conflict zones have to be properly and independently investigated. Investigations that are carried out by the military do not consider the full extent of the evidence and in almost every single case lead to the exoneration of the military involved. At best there is a shrug of regret about the consequences." Both the US and UK governments declined to comment on the Mirror's allegations. "We are not going to dignify something so outlandish with a response," a White House official said. A Downing Street spokesman added: "We have got nothing to say about this story. We don't comment on leaked documents." The attorney general last night threatened newspapers with the Official Secrets Act if they revealed the contents of a document allegedly relating to a dispute between Mr Blair and Mr Bush over the conduct of military operations in Iraq. ************************************************************************** http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/11/23/114622/13 If the story has no merit, why would the Brittish government threaten newspapers with prosecution under the Official Secrets Act? Suddenly, Eason Jordan doesn't seem like such a crackpot, does he? (Not that he ever did, despite the rightwing swarm against him.) And incidentally, the two Brits who leaked the memo detailing the argument between Bush and Blair over bombing Al Jazeera are already being prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act. It's real. ********************************* Now it becomes clearer why the supposedly "Liberal Media" treads so lightly around the Bush administration. Being bombed, or otherwise killed, or being arrested and possibly sent to some hideaway torture chamber is no laughing matter.And having your access to the administration inhibited leaves you will little to do but cut'n'paste, effectively damaging your effectiveness as a reporter. Purportedly, the terrorists hate us for our freedoms. But we have no problem doing to ourselves what terrorist would not be able to do, and doing unto innocent Moslems what we fear they might do to us. The noose of a vicious circle tightens. xponent When The Dogs Of War Come Home To Roost Maru rob _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
