Former British Minister admits he proposed bombing Aljazeera's Baghdad offices

A former home secretary in the UK admits he proposed bombing Aljazeera's TV transmitter in Baghdad in 2003:

David Blunkett, the UK's former home secretary, has said that during the 2003 invasion of Iraq he suggested to Tony Blair that Britain's military should bomb Aljazeera's television transmitter in Baghdad.

Aljazeera television said on Thursday that Blunkett's claims - made in an interview with Britain's Channel 4 television to be aired on Monday - support its belief that the US and Britain deliberately bombed its Baghdad offices during the war.

Ahmed Al-Sheikh, editor-in-chief of Aljazeera's Arabic channel, said; "This adds to the growing number of evidences that will one day prove that the attack on Aljazeera was premeditated ... at the highest levels."

"Aljazeera was being targeted at the time because the people who were waging war on Iraq didn't like what it was showing."

"We talk about terrorism, this is pure terrorism."

Unfortunately, the more I learn, the more cynical I become about all government. Obviously, this complete disregard for honest news reporting and for allowing the people to know the facts permeats both our own government and Britain's. To a very large degree, Aljazeera was not misreporting the facts, it was simply reporting facts that our governments didn't want anybody to know about. They could control our own domestic press through carrots (exclusive interviews with policy makers) and sticks (you won't have a seat on the White House press corps) and intimidation (we'll throw you in jail for treason if you print that), but they couldn't control Aljazeera except by bombing it.

Unfortunately, there's not much left of a democracy when there is no way for the public to learn the facts.