Bomb al-Jazeera?

[Dr Adequate]

Story

In the absence of hard facts, could we have some baseless speculation?

Or does anyone know where we can find the disputed text?

 

[geni]

Story

In the absence of hard facts, could we have some baseless speculation?

Or does anyone know where we can find the disputed text?

At present all that is know is the contents of the mirror article:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_obj...ush-plot-to-bomb-his-arab-ally-name_page.html

So far the US has managed to hit al-Jazeera in both Iraq and afganistan. Draw your own conclusions.

 

[Dr Adequate]

So if someone bombs the Daily Mirror, we'll know who to blame.

 

[ceo_esq]

So if someone bombs the Daily Mirror, we'll know who to blame.

We'll have to round up the usual suspects who have a grudge against the Daily Mirror. Michael Jackson? Naomi Campbell? Liberace's dead, so he'll have a decent alibi.

 

[Cain]

Al-Jazeera was lending comfort and support to our enemies, so that would make it a legitimate military target. I'm not saying we targeted them, but if we did then that's OK. A Republican must cover all of his bases these days. I love A-rabs. Islam is a profound religion; a religion of peace.

 

[Cylinder]

That Blair and Bush should have discussed bombing the Al-Jazeera building in Qatar is hardly surprising. They agreed to bomb the headquarters of Serbian television during the Kosovo war.

Whoops!

 

[Grammatron]

At present all that is know is the contents of the mirror article:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16397937&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=exclusive--bush-plot-to-bomb-his-arab-ally-name_page.html

So far the US has managed to hit al-Jazeera in both Iraq and afganistan. Draw your own conclusions.

Is it not also true some reporters for US and European news sources have died from friendly fire and such? Are we to conclude that was also intentional?

 

[CBL4]

One of the things that amazed me was that we did not control the airwaves of Iraq during the invasion and immediate aftermath. Part of war is winning the propaganda battle. I assume that we have the capability to prevent Iraqi's from hearing al Jazeera. I expected us to do so.

Of course, we might have decided it was better to let al Jazeera broadcast rather than to block it.

Bombing al Jazeera in Qatar would not have be appropriate. Blocking the broadcast in Iraq and even neighboring countries seems reasonable.

CBL

 

[geni]

Is it not also true some reporters for US and European news sources have died from friendly fire and such? Are we to conclude that was also intentional?

Mostly the friendly fire issues and the like involved reporters in the field. The US militry didn't really have any way to know they were there.

The cloest parrallel was when that tank shell was fired into the palistine hotel and the US militry has stated that they thought sniper fire was comeing from it. Since the descission was made in the heat it of battle it is a reasonable excuse.

By comparison the US never claimed that the al Jazeera station in Iraq fired on them.

 

[Dr Adequate]

Is it not also true some reporters for US and European news sources have died from friendly fire and such? Are we to conclude that was also intentional?

Shooting a journalist while there's a battle going on is difficult to arrange, but easy to do accidentally. By contrast, dropping a smart bomb on a building seems harder to do accidentally and easier to arrange. Though this depends on how smart smart bombs are, which is a parameter I don't know.

This is why seeing the memo would be interesting. If Bush wanted to bomb al-Jazeera, then the fact that al-Jazeera was bombed takes on extra significance.

 

[shecky]

Frank Gaffney Jr doesn't have a big problem with this.

 

[demon]

Gaffney was on the UK`s BBC Newsnight last week, adamantly supporting the bombing of Jazeera HQ in Qatar...that's advocating terrorism, as much as bin Laden and Co. calling for attacks on BBC Bush House or Fox News and he should have been introduced as such ie in terms of his open support for terrorism. Of course, he wasn`t.
Gaffney also had an easy passage on BBC World service the same night - he thought U.S. torture centers in secret locations across Eastern Europe were a dandy idea, while effortlessly, and without challenge, including both 9-11 and the riots in France in the same insane narrative.

Dangerous loons like Gaffney, and the wingnuts at the AEI, Heritage Foundation, and Brookings are standard fare on BBC. Their extremism almost becomes normal.

 

[geni]

Shooting a journalist while there's a battle going on is difficult to arrange, but easy to do accidentally. By contrast, dropping a smart bomb on a building seems harder to do accidentally and easier to arrange. Though this depends on how smart smart bombs are, which is a parameter I don't know.

In the Iraq war they always got the first three letters of the countries name right.

 

[richardm]

In the Iraq war they always got the first three letters of the countries name right.

These Texans must have been terrified. One typo away from immolation.