Just when you get accustomed to the nuttiness emanating out of the Washington kleptocracy, and you begin to shrug off the explosive combination of Kennebunktport entitlement and crazy eyed Texas dumb fuckery displayed by Bush, something comes along and jolts you right back to reality.
President Bush planned to bomb Arab TV station al-Jazeera in friendly Qatar, a “Top Secret” No 10 memo reveals.
It appears that this report is credible because the two civil servants accused of the leak are now subject to prosecution under the Official Secrets Act.
This also places into a greater context the bombings of the al-Jazeera offices in Kabul and Baghdad, and raises the suspicions to those who say journalists and media organisations were intentionally targeted by the Americans in Iraq and elsewhere.
When I hear reports like this, I begin to think that maybe it was a good thing for Tony Blair and John Howard to become so deeply involved with the US inspired WoT, in that it may have given them some influence in toning down the worst excesses of misplaced American adventurism.
The White House says this story is “outlandish“.
Which is not the same as “false”.
On the other hand, I would argue that without the UK (in particular) and Australia’s contribution the war may never have happened. We’ll never know until we re-constitute the new version post WWII Nurenburg war crimes trial.
I can imagine how the US would have played this one as a ”technical mistake in a training exercise.” Not far removed from the BS story of the tank being fired upon from the hotel and the consequent tank shell which killed the Spanish journo in 2003, tape recordings at that time flatly contradicting the US explanation.
Question: Where are all the guys defending the war these days?
(Hiding from a hiding and finding it hard to remain Repuke supporters?)
Maybe the guys who defend the war can’t be bothered arguing with moonbats anymore.
As far as I’m concerned, enemy media are enemy.
Uh huh.
With an argument like that, I believe there might be work for you in China, Burma, or Nepal, Evil.
Some anarchist you are.
EP, Qatar has joined the war then? Now that’s interesting news, real ‘moonbat’ news. Do you have any more side splitting stuff like that?
To paraphrase: ”Never in the field of human war mongering have so many sunk so fast, so low, with so few words of regret.”
Some course reading for your university of the internet:
“Maybe the guys who defend the war canÄôt be bothered arguing with moonbats anymore.”
What they aren’t even talking to each other anymore?
Considering the low standard of journalism in general, and the siding with the enemy that is a common characteristic of Western journalism in particular, I have little or no sympathy for journalists.
With few exceptions, they are not a part of the solution but a part of the problem. Society would be better off without the elitist towers of ignorance which constitute the traditional media. In a few years, most of them will be bankrupt and that will be a good thing.
As for anarchism — the media as presently constituted are authoritarian and oppressive, therefore seeking their dissolution is a good thing.
Shorter EP: Kill them all.
And salt the earth they stood on.
Are there any other sources than (or ultimately attributed to) The Daily Mirror for this claim? Coz I understand that The Daily Mirror is something of a sensationalist tabloid, that got caught out with fake torture stores a while back. Maybe it’s true, maybe not, maybe it’s Bush’s little joke a la Reagan’s “We begin bombing in ten minutes” routine, but I’d want better sources first.
Al-jaz is a wonderful breakthrough, as far as Middle Eastern TV is concerned. It is highly controverisal with fundamentalists and Baathist sleazeballs alike and despised in some circles for it’s anarchic interviews with Ariel Sharon and Colin Powell (yes, they actually interview non-Muslims) and it’s snooping sensationalist journalism. Evil actually has more in common with the Islamists if he hates Al-jaz, which has done more to bring free debate and western journalistic methods to Middle East screens than decades of totalitarian, state-run ‘long-live-[president, king, ayatollah]-SoandSo’ TV.
In conclusion: jeez, Evil Kitty, you give colourblindness and tunnelvision a bad name!
I don’t particularly hate al-Jazeera.
I think CNN, CBS, the ABC, PBS, and SBS are all much more harmful.
Ha Ha, EP is the Fox news person and dare I say it, Bill O’Reilly is his hero.
What we are seeing now guys is ”the EP Factor” at work.
(Next book on the agenda is for the kids, the ”Evil Kitty Factor”.)
“As far as IÄôm concerned, enemy media are enemy. ”
So you won’t mind when enraged feminists try to take out you and your blog?
Of course I’ll mind. But I’ll know it’s just a battle in the culture wars, like when I try to take out the Sydney Morning Herald.
In this case the report does have legs as the two civil servants have been charged under the secrets act. However in the general scheme of things it amounts to just another piece of the Bush puzzle. It all amounts to some seriously crazy stuff and history will not be kind.
Incidentially, I just noticed the title of this post adjoining my image, talk about an unfortunate juxtaposition………..damn, now it’d be seriously funny if it was someone else…….maybe adjoining EP’s comments Gravatar.
If anybody thinks the story has no legs have a look at this and ask yourself why would Blair invoke the official secrets act against newspapers (1st time in a long time) if there was no substance to the story.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1648590,00.html
To my mind, this is the ultimate proof, Tony Bliar knows this stuff is devastating.
EP: Technically you’re “media”. Would it be OK if Al Qaeda killed you?
Al-Qaeda already wants to kill me. Al-Qaeda’s targets include anyone who lives in Australia.
As I’ve pointed out, we are at war. We are trying to kill them and they are trying to kill us.
” We are trying to kill them and they are trying to kill us.”
Whaddya mean “we” paleface? What’s your contribution to this war beyond verbally attacking your fellow citizens who are also in Al-Qaeda’s sights?
I’ve watched al-Jazeera in an Arab country sitting with a bunch of the locals over glasses of condensed milk with a bit of coffee added (Who incidentally were perfectly affable and hospitable even though they knew I was from a country that, as part of the CoW, had invaded Iraq a few months before.) and asked them to translate the gist of various reports and stories.
From that, and from what I could make out on the screen, al-Jaz seemed to be a straightforward news channel (albeit with a much snazzier station logo than most) and that the only barrow it appeared to be pushing was a determination to place international events in a regional and Arabic context.
One of the blokes there pointed out that until it came along, their only sources of international TV news beyond local state-controlled stations were the BBC and CNN (which he said were good but lacked a solid understanding of what was really going on their region), and then politely but pointedly wondered how Western countries would feel if they only had al-Jaz reporting on the world from an Arab perspective, instead of the Beeb and CNN.
And we should remember that a central tenet of all warfighting doctrines since the invention of the telegraph is to seize, disable or subvert communications and media systems. Either that or the fact US bombed and rocketed SerbiaÄôs state TV headquarters and Al Jazeera in Kabul and Baghdad means those bombs and missiles arenÄôt so smart or guided after all.
I mean “we” Australians and members of Western civilisation.
My contribution to this war is to help counteract propaganda that attempts to weaken and undermine our efforts. Since this war will largely be decided on the basis of public morale, this is an important contribution.
This is also why the media are significant in the conflict. My stance is that if some media are more useful to the enemy than they are to us, they may be regarded as enemy combatants. Note that I am not singling out al-Jazeera as the worst offender here.
Umm, certainly here it’s not a very effective contribution. If anything, you’re stiffening people’s resolve to keep an open mind and to laugh at those that don’t.
“weaken and undermine our efforts.”
Have you thought of tackling this at the source? Y’know, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (“An address that changes all the rules”), Number One Observatory Circle and that big funny shaped building in Arlington County.
I think “the source” can be found right here.
Several of the stray cats hanging out around my block of flats would hiss and squeal like buggery if you tried to pick ‘em up, but on cold nights they couldn’t wait to get inside and sit on the couch next to you and the heater, purring raucously as they watched us watching DVDs.
“My contribution to this war is to help counteract propaganda that attempts to weaken and undermine our efforts. Since this war will largely be decided on the basis of public morale, this is an important contribution.”
I think we’ve found a new Walter Kitty.
Honestly, are we expected to believe that Larva Rodeo is the Hellmouth source of propaganda undermining our efforts in the WOT? I mean, it explains Kitten Little’s motivation in alerting us to the evils of sperm theft, but doesn’t say much for his powers of observation.
I would have thought that Osama bin Laden fella was a bigger problem, but no, it’s Mark bin Bahnisch who’s the real evil genius we’re fighting to the death. Who knew?
Fyodor on 24 November 2005 at 12:28 pm
Every little bit helps. There is evidence that even the humblest corners of the virtual world can occasionally influence the actual one.
Fyodor’s chronic interjections appear to be designed to change public opinon. Even if the public is just the “hail fellow well met” sort he might meet down the pub.
Or are these effusions purely for self-regard? This would figure if my diagnosis is right and his on-line narcissism is simply the intellectual aspect of his more general solipsism.
By all means we should puff out our chests, stamp our feet and pull scary faces at domestic sources of enemy projects and propaganda. This will make us feel better and, who knows, it might give them pause for thought.
But I don’t think that it is helpful to bomb Al Jazeera journalists or torture Islamist terrorists. Its not nice and these things have a way of “blowing back” in our faces.