Juan Cole reflects on the Bush-Aljazeera relationship, and why he doubts that Bush was “joking”
Despite attempts of British officials to muddy the waters by suggesting that Bush was joking, another official who had seen the memo insisted, “Bush was deadly serious, as was Blair. That much is absolutely clear from the language used by both men.”
Not long ago I saw a documentary Control Room, about Aljazeera, and prominently featured Josh Rushing, who worked in the U.S. Central Command Media Office. Excellent film, by the way. The death of the journalist menti oned by Cole actually happens during the filming (not on tape, but during a shoot, when the cameras were not rolling….since they were taking cover)
Yes, a great documentary. Also, the reports are pretty sure that Bush was not joking. If he was joking, then why would Blair have had to talk him out of a joke?