The United States had reportedly considered bombing the headquarters of Arabic media broadcaster, Al Jazeera, but was talked out of the plan by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, according to a report in Britain's Daily Mirror. The report, which cited a top secret British government document which had been uncovered, included a five-page transcript during Blair's April 2004 visit to the US.
According to the AFP, the report revealed that Blair feared such a strike, believing that it would spark retaliatory attacks. The planned attack would have targeted Al Jazeera headquarters located in the business district of Doha, the capital of Qatar, considered an important western ally.
One British official quoted in the report, however, said that the threat was described as “humorous, not serious.”
Al Jazeera’s outspoken stand on the US-led invasion into Iraq has drawn continued criticism from Washington. The satellite station has broadcast Al Qaeda messages as well as graphic scenes of beheadings of Western hostages. The White House has been claiming that Al Jazeera’s reports on events in the Middle East were biased.
The memo was reportedly given to The Mirror by British civil servant David Keogh, who is scheduled to appear before the Bow Street Magistrates Court in central London next week regarding the matter.
Sources at The Mirror said that the revelation “casts fresh doubt on claims that other attacks on Al Jazeera were accidents," referring to the 2001 direct hit on Al Jazeera's office in Kabul, Afghanistan.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
