Bush's Al Jazeera bombshell raises a stink

     Islamabad: The Paris based Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) has voiced its concerns following revelations in the international media that US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair considered the possibility of bombing Arab TV channel Al Jazeera. It said that the US had already twice bombed Al Jazeera offices in Afghanistan and Iraq, and these reports only provided further insight, into the motives of the occupation forces in Iraq. "We find it hard to believe that President Bush really discussed this possibility. This would be extremely serious and would constitute a major and unprecedented violation of the right to information. Bombing any news organisation, especially in time of peace, would be incomprehensible and unacceptable. If this report turns out to be true, it offers a new insight into the motives of the US forces, which have already bombed Al Jazeera offices twice, in Afghanistan and Iraq," the RSF said in a statement. "Above all else, we would like to see light shed on this case as soon as possible. We call on all the parties concerned to demonstrate complete transparency. To put an end to all the controversy and avoid dangerous and baseless accusations, the solution seems to be to publish this memo.

    If the Daily Mirror's information is correct, we call on the US government to explain the reasons that drove it to consider such action," it said. "We are also shocked by the British government's decision to ban the British press from publishing any information about the content of this memo, classified 'top secret'. Invoking the 1989 Official Secrets Act and threatening to take newspapers to court is disturbing in a country that is usually careful to respect press freedom," it added. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera has said that it was investigating the authenticity of the memo cited by the Daily Mirror and would wait for confirmation from Downing Street before drawing any conclusions, reports the Daily Times. "If the report is correct, it would be worrying and shocking and would raise serious doubts about the US account of previous incidents involving attacks on our bureau," said Al Jazeera.