Al-Jazeera calls for No 10 talks
Wadah Khanfar [head of Al-Jazeera] is calling for the facts to be made public and urgent talks.
According to press reports, the memo includes a transcript record of Mr Blair attempting in April 2004 to persuade Mr Bush not to bomb al-Jazeera's HQ in Qatar.
Qatar is an ally of the US and was the location of US military headquarters during the Iraq war.
The White House dismissed reports of the conversation as "outlandish", but US officials have openly accused al-Jazeera of being a mouthpiece for al-Qaeda.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, Mr Khanfar said: "Al- Jazeera is in the foremost of free form and democracy in the Arab world and therefore this news that we have heard is very concerning.
"So we demand a proper explanation and we would like to know the facts about this letter."
He said the matter was very important and that it concerned not only al-Jazeera but journalists across the world.
Rob (Americablog contributor) has this observation:
If this is true, that Bush wanted to bomb a building in the very same country as his military headquarters in a time of war, he would have to be absolutely insane. Congress should seriously consider what this would mean if the Commander in Chief was that wreckless.
The little story that won't go away....
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