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The Downing Street Memo
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The Downing Street Memo |
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Mistletoe Angel 
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816Portland, Oregon |
http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/memo.html The Downing Street Memo, still largely ignored by the national press, has, for just over a month now since its publication in the May 1st issue of The Times, continues to intrigue readers across the world as the vast majority who are unfamiliar with the memo continue to hear of this longevite story. This memo, marked "secret and strictly personal", dating eight months prior to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, reads the following, detailing a discussion at 10 Downing St. on July 23, 2002: * "Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam through military action justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." * The memo also reveals how both Bush and Blair were eager into rushing to war, even if they knew the evidence was flawed. In addition, the call into going to war was made right at the time of the 2002 Congressional elections. * Sounds like a solid case for impeachment to me. If this doesn't do it, nothing will. If you are concerned about these disclosures and believe Bush must be held accountable and answer before the people the questions of their intentions and intelligence into rushing to war, you can take action here: http://www.johnconyers.com/ Let's hope he at least has the class to step up before the American people and explain everything. Sincerely, Noah Eaton "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other" |
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Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
Held accountable, Noah? The Bush Administration's duplicity regarding evidence of WMD in Iraq has been known just about forever, certainly long before the last Presidential election. The majority of our population held him accountable to the tune of four more years. I think you're beating a dead horse.  |
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Goldenrose Member Elite
since 2003-05-30
Posts 3665 |
Noah i was very interested in your post here...and so i found this that may be of help to you...www.impeachblair.org/ ... The british people knew all about this and here i find that i have to agree with Ron ...we still knew all about how he lied..he was openly called a liar on national televison and he brazended it out and STILL won the election just like bush did..both of them got in again because there was no credible opposition to both when they ran for office again... But what i agree with you on is, if this is how they do things with such an important issue about sending troops to war and having casualities in the name of oil...what are they just as capable of doing on other subjects?...Blair is under pressure to stand down..after the G8 summit in Edinburgh...you may see Mr Gordon Brown as new prime minister of England...and then Blair can recieve his payment for his part in helping Bush on the war in Iraq.... Desire for nothing except desirelessness,hope for nothing except to rise above all hopes, want nothing and you will have everything.avatar Meher Baba. |
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Mistletoe Angel
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816Portland, Oregon |
This isn't beating a dead horse, Ron. For two years I've had my understanding that Bush violated treaties to have his way, which violate the Constitution and other conventions, and that those particular actions are deemed impeachable offenses. You may have watched "Meet The Press" last Sunday, where Tim Russert was speaking with RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, and when he mentions the memo, Mehlman says, "Tim, that report has been discredited by everyone else who's looked at it since then. Whether it's the 9-11 Commission, whether it's the Senate, whoever's looked at this has said there was no effort to change the intelligence at all." See, it can't be discredited if the intelligence itself wasn't investigated before the March 2003 invasion. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/13jul20041400/www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/pdf/s108-301/sec1.pdf When the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq released their report, it shows that the committee decided not to investigate the administration's use of intelligence in its investigation. http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf Meanwhile, in the 9/11 Commission Report, it focuses directly on Iraq in the vein of Hussein, al-Qaeda and 9/11, but doesn't speak of the accuracy of Bush and other administration's statements about the threat of the nation. As you may be aware, the attitude towards the war has shifted, with more than ever disapproving of it, and a majority now saying it has made the world less safe. With that said, I believe this memo sheds some great light on the issue, and I believe some tough questions must be answered. Sincerely, Noah Eaton "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other" |
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Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
quote: LOL. If lying, while not under oath, is an impeachable offense, just where do you want to start? More importantly, Noah, where do you think it will end? Impeach Bush and the next man in line must stand for exactly the same offenses. And so on and so on and so on. Finding a politician who hasn't lied is probably going to be harder than finding a sailor who never cussed.  Face it, my friend, you're not so much mad that Bush might have lied as you are mad about the consequences those lies have wrought. And that's cool. I'm mad, too. But you're STILL not introducing anything that wasn't already known before the election. The people spoke, your side lost, and trying to find a loophole to reverse your defeat does nothing but reflect poorly on your ideals. A politician lied because he believed what he wanted was more important than what the public wanted. You want to impeach him for seemingly the same exact reasons -- because what you want is more important to you than what the majority of America said it wanted. People knew, Noah. Many might not have wanted to believe it, many more I think rationalized and justified it, but everyone knew. Still, they voted for Bush. You're still trying to prove something we all knew and about which the majority clearly didn't care. You're still trying to win an election you already lost. |
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Aenimal Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
Posts 7350the ass-end of space |
noah the administration managed to exploit two key elements of the post 9/11 psyche, fear and ignorance. for those that didn't fall into those category, it knew it could rely on the good ol'fashioned apathy. the vote, this forum and the lack of a strong anti-war movement have clearly displayed this. |
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Mistletoe Angel
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816Portland, Oregon |
Those on the side that wasn't Bush's side lost not because we didn't have what they wanted, we had a rather weak challenger who didn't hold a very loyal position to that other side and tended to portray himself rather than as an oppositional candidate, more of a Bush-Lite. As true as that is, I still find it miraculous that over 57 million Americans came out to vote for him anyway, including myself, for, as disappointed as I was that he just wasn't appearing like the oppositional candidate he should have been to the war and such, I believed he would be better off than him so I went with that instinct. And I don't believe the general American public knew of this reality behind the scenes of the war either. Instead there was the whole "lessons of 9/11" mantra humming across the airwaves and at the conventions, and that was being promoted as a primacy effect, because, after all, almost all Americans supported Bush following 9/11, thinking maybe he was believing the same lesson after the attack and handling the matter maturely. We already knew he and his colleagues have lied about Iraq on and on and on. I'm not going after that here. Rather, I'm presenting and populating the reality of Bush, Blair, and other's intentions well before March 2003 and how the intelligence was fixed and all. If anything, it's actually more of a coloring book exercise to help make us aware another behind closed door strategy is on the way for an upcoming war, if this doesn't become the fullest puzzle piece it should and charges Bush and others of war crimes. The Democrats, meanwhile, are doing nothing to acknowledge the increasing disapproval toward the war and the almost 3 in 5 Americans who believe in a partial or full withdrawal. Howard Dean rather insists to just plainly sling mud rather than also rallying his base behind a plan to demand a timetable for withdrawal, and it just shows how both parties are out of the eyes of mainstream America here. With that said, I care less about the election now. I just want dialogue, period. Sincerely, Noah Eaton "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other" |
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Juju Member Elite
since 2003-12-29
Posts 3429In your dreams |
Yes, I beleive the beloved FDR did some similiar things if I remembered correctly. In fact he did it for oil too. That's WW2 for yeah. Wars get started over all kinds of reasons. often the real reasons are covered up by other reasons. The truth? It is human nature to posses and conquer. Are we americans, any different than every one else? We want big new shiny cars, swiming pools, large houses, All of the newest fashons of clothes, the right hair style, we fight over who is the best. The irony??? Everything we see is only light. None of it exists. The things we touch are not really there. Just sensors in the brain. JUst an illusion. -Juju Juju - 1.) a magic charm or fetish 2.)Magic 3.)A taboo connected woth the use of magic |
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Aenimal Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
Posts 7350the ass-end of space |
"The truth? It is human nature to posses and conquer. Are we americans, any different than every one else? We want big new shiny cars, swiming pools, large houses, All of the newest fashons of clothes, the right hair style, we fight over who is the best." wow.. 'because we can' |
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Juju Member Elite
since 2003-12-29
Posts 3429In your dreams |
Not because "We can" Because "We want". People don't win football games because they can. they don't know that they can. They just want to win. Poeple who do things, because they can, have nothing better to do. If you you only do something, because you can, then it is no chalange. Doing things the easy way leaves discontent. It is human nature to have pride and honor. Not that I like war, I am just letting you understand you misunderstood my statement and what it meant. -Juju Juju - 1.) a magic charm or fetish 2.)Magic 3.)A taboo connected woth the use of magic |
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Aenimal Member Rara Avis
since 2002-11-18
Posts 7350the ass-end of space |
understood. still, it's an attitude of conquest, and i'm not saying that's your attitude necessarily, but there is a frighteningly large pocket who does think this way and that it is acceptable. as for honour, there's nothing honourable about a knowingly illegal and unethical war created by the administration. but as stated earlier, while the administration created the lie, the combination of fear, ignorance and apathy are what have sustained it. |
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Mistletoe Angel
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816Portland, Oregon |
Yesterday, thirty representatives were present with John Conyers to form the official beginning of the Downing Street Memo hearings. They convened in a cramped room in the basement of the Capitol. Among those speaking included former ambassador Joe Wilson, veteran CIA analyst Ray McGovern, attorney John Bonifaz and Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004. Right after the hearing, Conyers and other lawmakers went to Lafayette Park across from the White House for a rally organized by the coalition AfterDowningStreet.org. After being stopped at the White House gate, they hand-delivered the signatures of over 120 congressional Democrats and more than half a million citizens on petitions demanding a detailed response from the Bush administration to the Downing Street memo. Here are some brief highlights: 1) John Bonifaz first spoke. His main point in his testimony was that if the documents were proven to be true, the president may have violated a federal law against misleading Congress, and his actions would be grounds for impeachment. 2) Joseph Wilson was asked about what details of the Downing Street Memo reveal what was not known before. He argued about two major July 2002 publications by former senior advisors to Bush Sr. and how they may not have been written or written otherwise had the details been dfferent, etc. 3) Ray McGovern spoke about how numerous documents revealed how British lawyers were panicking, trying to find a way to make the war legally justified, speaking that their best strategy was to "propose to Saddam Hussein the kind of intrusive inspection regime that he is sure to reject, and then we'll have a causus belli, then we can do what we want." He also questioned Cheney's frequent visits to the CIA. 4) Cindy Sheehan spoke of the Downing Street Memo as proof that our "leaders betrayed too many innocents into an early grave", and added that the memo is the "necessary first step into righting the wrong that is Iraq and holding someone accountable for the needless, senseless and avoidable deaths of many thousands." * Sincerely, Noah Eaton "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other" |
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Juju Member Elite
since 2003-12-29
Posts 3429In your dreams |
Only 120 democratic congress men. ISn't there more then that??? Didn't they get over 3/4 a million poeple petitioning against the use of dihydrogen monoxide. -Juju Juju - 1.) a magic charm or fetish 2.)Magic 3.)A taboo connected woth the use of magic |
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Denise
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648 |
And yet how "flawed" did they actually perceive the evidence to be regarding WMD when the very same memo lists the risks of going to war with Sadaam would be his possibly attacking Kuwait and Israel with his WMDs? |
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