http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/PA_NEWA70168081132615588A00
"There were calls for Downing Street to publish the transcript of a conversation between Tony Blair and US President George Bush, amid claims that [on April 16 last year] the Prime Minister persuaded Mr Bush not to launch a military strike on a TV station in a friendly Arab state.
According to unnamed sources quoted in the Daily Mirror, the memo - stamped Top Secret - records Mr Bush suggesting that he might order the bombing of Al-Jazeera's studios in Qatar."
"Al-Jazeera had sparked the anger of the US administration by broadcasting video messages from al Qaida head Osama bin Laden and leaders of the insurgency in Iraq, as well as showing footage of the bodies of US servicemen and Iraqi civilians killed in fighting."
"A spokesman for 10 Downing Street refused to discuss the leaked memo."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1885279,00.html
"[UK] NEWSPAPERS editors were threatened with prosecution under the Official Secrets Act last night if they published details"
"The Blair Government has obtained court injunctions against newspapers before but it has never prosecuted editors for publishing the contents of leaked documents."
"the Editor of the Daily Mirror, said last night: “We made No 10 fully aware of the intention to publish and were given ‘no comment’ officially or unofficially. Suddenly 24 hours later we are threatened under Section 5.”"
If the cat was out of the bag, why is the uk gov so nervous about it? Methinks they are more cats in that bag.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2005/11/23/BL2005112300460.html
"Could the president of the United States have conceivably believed it would have been a good idea to blow up the offices of a news organization that is respected in much of the Arab world, killing innocent people in the process?
Would he have sent American fighter planes into Qatar, a Middle East ally?
Could he have thought this would somehow advance U.S. foreign policy at a time when we're trying to persuade Iraqis of the virtues of democracy?
I'm sorry, it just doesn't add up. (Yes, I know the U.S. bombed al-Jazeera's Kabul office during the 2001 war, but I have no reason to disbelieve the explanation that it was an accident.)"