A controversial new book is claiming the US bombing of the Kabul offices of the Arabic television network Al Jazeera was deliberate. In “The One Percent Doctrine”, investigative journalist Ron Suskind writes: “On November 13 ²⁰⁰¹, a hectic day when Kabul fell to the Northern Alliance and there were celebrations in the streets of the city, a U.S. missile obliterated Al Jazeera’s office. Inside the CIA and White House there was satisfaction that a message had been sent to Al Jazeera.” In an interview with CNN, Suskind said government sources had told him there was “great anger” within the Bush administration over Al Jazeera’s coverage of the invasion of Afghanistan. He added: “I’ll tell you emphatically it was a deliberate act by the U.S.”

Suskind’s disclosure is the latest development to bolster speculation the US has deliberately targeted Al Jazeera. On April 8th 2003 — just weeks into the invasion of Iraq — the US bombed Al Jazeera’s Baghdad bureau, killing correspondent Tareq Ayoub. Last November, the Daily Mirror of London reported President Bush told British Prime Minister Tony Blair of his desire to bomb Al Jazeera’s headquarters in Qatar. The Mirror cited a secret memo leaked from the British government. According to the New York Times, Suskind’s book appears to have been written with wide access to former CIA Director George Tenet and a host of other government officials.