Downing Street Memos: Proof Of Deception, Not Intention

[BigBearJohn]

Nothing new here? Think of it this way: had the contents of these memos been known before the war, how might they have affected the debate?

I'm obsessed with the Downing Street memos. Now, I don't want to come across as a cranky lefty who waves these memos about and calls for the impeachment of George W. Bush. But I've recently appeared on several TV and radio shows and have encountered mainstream media people who dismiss the memos as nothing new. And this is getting me angry. I expect conservatives who back Bush and his war in Iraq to try to spin these documents away. They're merely following the deny-reality strategy that has worked so well for their man in the White House. It's the non-ideologues who say the memos are no big deal who get me riled.

I do think progressives who have embraced the DSM and related memos as the Holy Grail of Bush deceit may have emphasized the wrong aspects of the documents. They have tended to fixate on one portion of the first Downing Street memo—the minutes of a July 23, 2002, meeting during which Richard Dearlove, the head of the British CIA, told Prime Minister Tony Blair that Bush was set on war in Iraq and "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." A-ha, DSM devotees cry, this shows Bush had decided to go to war from the start and was rigging the intelligence to grease the way.

Is the DSM evidence that Bush was not speaking honestly in the summer of 2002 when he said he was still looking to resolve the Iraq matter without resorting to war? Probably. On August 7, 2002, Bush declared in a speech, "I will explore all options and all tools at my disposal: diplomacy, international pressure, perhaps the military." (Wasn't his use of the word "perhaps" rich?) But these days that misrepresentation seems not to count much in the offices of the establishment media. Those who dismiss the DSM say everyone knew back then Bush was heading toward war, and that there were plenty of stories in the press about the preparations for war. When I was on NPR's "Diane Rehm Show", I noted that the Downing Street memo contradicted Bush's public statements at the time. USA Today's Susan Page—whom I think highly of as a political reporter and fellow talk-show gabber—said facetiously she was shocked that a president would not tell the truth about his intentions. I was going to reply that one reason why Bush (and other presidents) get away with fibbing is that too many in the press treat presidential dissembling (or "disassembling," as one perp might call it) as routine. But we had to take a break. (Granted, I don't have much of a sense of humor about presidential disingenuousness.)

[libertypirate]

1. Ding Ding Ding Ding

We have a winner!

They are proof of deception and betrayal of the American people.

[pointsoflight]

2. The DSM show three forms of deception, IMO.

1) Bush was deceiving the American public about his intentions, as this author focuses on.

2) Bush may have been involving in "fixing" the facts (a possibility that's only an interpretation by the author, but still deserves an investigation).

3) Bush and Blair were trying to create a reason to go to war by backing Saddam into a corner and provoking him. They could not legally invade Iraq based on what they had, so they tried to create a situation that would justify an invasion. Deliberately trying the create the conditions for war is a far cry from treating war as the last option.

[mzmolly]

3. "Egzaktly!"

Recommended.

[katty]

4. Dissembling IS the SOP for the Corporation of America

thus, the message in American life is: 'lying will get you everywhere (conquer the world) and easily make you a president' (with the $ and power behind you of course). Bush laughed and made a joke out of NOT being able to find those pesky WMD's--he did this as our troops, Iraqi civilians and scores of workers in Iraq were being blown up with car bombs round the clock-and continue to be.
The degradation of this country is blatantly obvious to the REST OF THE WORLD. Although many around the globe happen to like Americans, they cannot fathom HOW UTTERLY CORRUPT and FASCISTIC OUR GOVERNMENT has become--they are shocked and scared --- while Americans turn on the tube and obsess over Paris Hilton and who is on the E! red carpet. If the DSM have any effect to instigate an Impeachment hearing, IT WILL BE A MIRACLE OR DIVINE INTERVENTION.
We will start hearing bigger rumblings on Iran very shortly, bush&co will provoke an action - and that's that. THEY DO WHATEVER THEY WANT AND GET AWAY WITH IT.