British Court Proceedings Establish Bush Threatened to Bomb Al Jazeera

By Scott Horton

The British Government began an Official Secrets Act prosecution today against two public servants for leaking a secret minute of discussions held between Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush on April 16, 2004. In the course of the discussion, Bush complained bitterly about Iraq war coverage by the Al Jazeera network and suggested that the Al Jazeera international broadcast headquarters in Qatar be bombed in order to silence its coverage of the Iraq war. Blair patiently explained why such an act would be counterproductive, starting with the fact that Qatar was an allied state, that its ruler was a part owner and that allied involvement in such an operation would be difficult to disguise.

British Attorney General Lord Goldsmith blocked publication of the memo in the United Kingdom by threatening to prosecute any newspaper that printed it, though the Daily Mirror and several other publications reproduced the essence of the memorandum, as did publications in the United States.

At or about the time of the proposal that Bush put to Blair, Al Jazeera was the victim of a series of brutal attacks:

• its offices in Afghanistan were bombed by the U.S. in 2001;
• a Basra hotel occupied by Al Jazeera journalists was shelled by the U.S. in 2003;
• Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Ayoub was killed, also in 2003;
• numerous Al Jazeera reporters were imprisoned by U.S. forces in Iraq, and one was deported to and is now held in Guantánamo; many of these reporters have stated that they were tortured and abused while in captivity.

In April 2004, in the two weeks prior to the Bush-Blair summit, Al Jazeera provided live coverage of U.S. military operations in the town of Falluja. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld sharply attacked Al Jazeera the day before the Bush-Blair meeting, characterizing the reporting on Al Jazeera as "vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable . . . It's disgraceful what that station is doing."

Another journalist who provided direct, front-line coverage of the assault on Falluja was Associated Press photojournalist Bilal Hussein, who received the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage in 2004. Bilal Hussein was seized by U.S. Forces a year ago and remains in U.S. custody today without any charges.

By bringing the prosecution, the British Government confirms the accuracy of the prior reports about the meeting. The memorandum will itself be entered into evidence and shown to the jury. While the White House has suggested that Bush's remarks may have been made in jest, the surrounding facts—particularly the Rumsfeld statement—effectively eliminate this possibility, and make clear that he was actively seeking to enlist the British government in acts of violence against a news organization.