I just discovered a site called Downing Street Memo.com. It is a site dedicated to raising the profile and breaking the story of the Downing Street Memo in the American media.
This website has been setup by concerned Americans who feel it is the Medias responsibility to hold the US Administration to account when it won’t do so itself.
Please, if you feel, as I do, that the Downing Street Memo is the smoking gun that proves the illegality and dishonesty of the US Adminitration re. the Iraq war, go to downingstreetmemo.com and contact your Representative or Senator… or contact a major news outlet. They have made it very easy to do from that one site.
Hopefully if enough people raise a stink CNN and company will actually realise that the medias job is to report news act as the Governments watch-dog… not report on the latest runaway bride.
Oh, and I have to give out a surprising Kudos to FoxNews.com. Their online article talked explicity about this subject and gave me the links. Whoda thunk.
Ahem, Chris … that memo also documents the discussions regarding what would happen if Saddam used his WMD against Coalition forces, early in the conflict.
If this is the smoking gun, regarding my President’s “fabrications” re: Iraq, then why were they even discussing that scenario in this meeting?
Hmmm … ?
Because they didn’t know for sure, that’s the whole point Rich. No one did at that point. As the Memo states, the WMD angle was the only justifiable angle.
Did you read the whole memo?
It says.
“…the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran. We should work up a plan for an ultimatum to Saddam to allow back in the UN weapons inspectors. This would also help with the legal justification for the use of force.”
and
“The Attorney-General said that the desire for regime change was not a legal base for military action.”
and
“The Prime Minister said that it would make a big difference politically and legally if Saddam refused to allow in the UN inspectors. Regime change and WMD were linked in the sense that it was the regime that was producing the WMD. ”
so this memo is a smoking gun because it shows:
a) that Bush had decided to go to war even before he asked Congress and months before he made his “decision” clear to the American people.
b) that the WMD angle was weak and that the *policy* was to “fix” the facts to fit the outcome.
c) When push came to shove… Saddam *did* let in inspectors, thus negating the “big difference” that Tony Blair himself said Saddams refusal would make.
d) That invading a country for the sole purpose of regime change is not a valid, legal reason for war.
e) That the humanitarian angle was not an option because there was no ongoing humanitarian crisis (like it *was* in Bosnia and *is* in Darfur.
Please oh please explain to me how even *one* of those points could not be an impeacheable offense if proven?
Chris — you can find my reply here.