Memo: Bush wanted Aljazeera bombed

US President George Bush planned to bomb Aljazeera, British newspaper the Daily Mirror has reported, citing a Downing Street memo marked top secret.

The five-page transcript of a conversation between Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair reveals that Blair talked Bush out of launching a military strike on the station, unnamed sources told the daily.

The transcript of the pair's talks during Blair's 16 April 2004 visit to Washington allegedly shows Bush wanted to attack the satellite channel's headquarters in Doha, Qatar.
Blair allegedly feared such a strike, in the capital of Qatar, a key Western ally in the Gulf, would spark revenge attacks.

Aljazeera has said in a news statement that it is investigating the report and urged the US and British governments to challenge it. A British civil servant has been charged under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly leaking the government memo.

Civil servant accused

Cabinet Office civil servant David Keogh is accused of passing the memo to Leo O'Connor, who formerly worked for former British lawmaker Tony Clarke. Both Keogh and O'Connor are scheduled to appear at London's Bow Street Magistrates Court next week. According to the Daily Mirror, Clarke returned the memo to Blair's office. Clarke could not immediately be contacted for comment on Tuesday.

The Mirror on Tuesday quoted an unnamed British government official as saying Bush's threat was "humorous, not serious".Aljazeera's coverage of the war in Iraq had drawn criticism from Washington after the US-led March 2003 invasion.

A source told the Mirror: "The memo is explosive and hugely damaging to Bush.
"He made clear he wanted to bomb Aljazeera in Qatar and elsewhere. Blair replied that would cause a big problem. "There's no doubt what Bush wanted to do - and no doubt Blair didn't want him to do it."
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[+] Link Aljazzera.net