DOWNING STREET DELUSIONS (Questions of authenticity nixed)

[sabra]

<<SNIP>>
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_06/006537.php

DOWNING STREET DELUSIONS....The wingnuts are getting desperate. Captain's Quarters, in a nostalgic attempt to recreate the glories of Rathergate, suggests that the Downing Street Memos aren't real. Why? Because Michael Smith, the reporter who got hold of them, had them retyped to protect his source and then returned the originals. Jonah Goldberg feverishly calls CQ's revelations a "must read."

Now, unlike the Killian memos that were at the center of Rathergate, there are quite a few principals in this case who either wrote or received these memos and therefore have absolute knowledge of whether or not they're genuine. The first memo, for example, was written by Matthew Rycroft and distributed at the time to David Manning, Geoff Hoon, Jack Straw, Peter Goldsmith, Richard Wilson, John Scarlett, Francis Richards, Richard Dearlove, Jonathan Powell, Sally Morgan, and Alastair Campbell. So far, not a single one of these people has claimed they're fake.

In fact, just the opposite. Here's Tony Blair himself on May 1, the day the first memo was published:

In a Sunday morning television interview, Mr. Blair did not deny that the meeting took place in July 2002, but he recalled that "subsequent to that meeting, we went the United Nations route," seeking a resolution in November 2002, calling on the Iraqi government to disarm.

.....

<</SNIP>>

[Kerrytravelers]

1. You just know we're going to hear the words "hoax" and "Rather" repeated.

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Ad nasuem.

Because, if you say it enough, just the exact number of repeated times, the sheeple will indeed believe...

[Quixote1818]

2. Thanks for that

[HR_Pufnstuf]

3. Use this.

"And let me remind you that that memorandum was written before we then went to the United Nations." - Tony Blair, 6-8-5

http://www.newshounds.us/2005/06/08/fox_big_story_on_downing_street_memo.php

[nickgutierrez]

4. The "we went to the UN" talking point is a total non-sequitor.

And, in fact, proves the claims of the memo.

The proper response: "Yes, we know. You made up your minds to go to war before you brought it up with the UN. What's the point?"

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Especially when the memo says the UN was a way of excusing the war

rather than an attempt to avoid it. The memos spell out that the British government wanted to get a UN resolution for inspectors, thinking that Saddam would refuse, or limit their access, and that would give them an excuse for launching the full scale war - while their 'spikes of activity' had been trying to goad him into military action (and destroying Iraq's ability to resist the inevitable invasion).

Note that Iraq's dossier that they produced when the inspectors went in (Dec 2002), which said "we don't have any WMD", has never been made public. The US and UK just said "it's lying", and proceded with their military buildup.

[Karenina]

6. Use this instead

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. Unfortunately once the seeds of doubt are planted

the Bu$hbots will desperately hang onto that doubt for dear life. After a while the uninformed people, who don't pay that much attention to politics, will claim that those memos were fakes has it was the gospel truth.