London Bureau Chief Responds to Report of Memo Alleging Bush Wanted to Bomb Al Jazeera

The British government has threatened to use the Official Secrets Act to sue newspapers that publish contents of a leaked memo in which President Bush allegedly discusses bombing the Arabic satellite network Al Jazeera. The British newspaper the Daily Mirror disclosed the memo Tuesday. The paper based its report on a confidential Downing Street memo that said Bush told British Prime Minister Tony Blair in April 2004 that he wanted to attack Al Jazeera's headquarters in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Blair allegedly talked Bush out of the strike, fearing revenge attacks.

The Daily Mirror says it will comply with the government and not publish the memo. But Daily Mirror editor Richard Wallace said: "We made [the government] fully aware of the intention to publish and were given "no comment" officially or unofficially. Suddenly 24 hours later we are threatened under section 5 [of the secrets act]." Under section 5, it is illegal come into the possession of government information if it is disclosed without lawful authority. Two British civil servants have been charged in connection to the disclosure of the memo. Asked to comment on the memo, White House spokesperson Scott McClellan told the Associated Press: "We are not interested in dignifying something so outlandish and inconceivable with a response."

Al Jazeera bureaus were hit by U.S. warplanes in April 2003 in Baghdad and November 2001 in Kabul. Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Ayoub was killed in the Baghdad incident. The U.S. called both incidents accidental. Meanwhile the Washington Post is reporting a former senior U.S. intelligence official said the Bush administration saw Al Jazeera as such a problem that the CIA formulated plans to plant covert agents on its staff. The official said the plan was never approved.

In a statement, Al Jazeera said: "If the report is correct, then this would be both shocking and worrisome not only to al-Jazeera but to media organizations across the world. It would cast serious doubts in regard to the U.S. administration's version of previous incidents involving Al Jazeera"s journalists and offices."

* Yousri Fouda, senior investigative reporter at al Jazeera and host of "Top Secret," one of al Jazeera's most popular shows. He the network's London bureau chief where he is based. He is co-author of the book "Masterminds of Terror: The Truth Behind the Most Devastating Attack the World Has Ever Seen."
- Extended Democracy Now! interview with Yousri Fouda.
* John Pilger, British Journalist and filmaker. Columnist for the New Statesman. His latest film is "Stealing a Nation."
- Extended Democracy Now! interview with John Pilger.
- More on John Pilger.

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