New from Michael Smith: The Real News in the Downing Street Memos

[G_j]

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-smith23jun23,0,1838831.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

June 23, 2005 latimes.com

COMMENTARY

The Real News in the Downing Street Memos

By Michael Smith, Michael Smith writes on defense issues for the Sunday Times of London.

It is now nine months since I obtained the first of the "Downing Street memos," thrust into my hand by someone who asked me to meet him in a quiet watering hole in London for what I imagined would just be a friendly drink.

At the time, I was defense correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph, and a staunch supporter of the decision to oust Saddam Hussein. The source was a friend. He'd given me a few stories before but nothing nearly as interesting as this.

The six leaked documents I took away with me that night were to change completely my opinion of the decision to go to war and the honesty of Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush.

They focused on the period leading up to the Crawford, Texas, summit between Blair and Bush in early April 2002, and were most striking for the way in which British officials warned the prime minister, with remarkable prescience, what a mess post-war Iraq would become. Even by the cynical standards of realpolitik, the decision to overrule this expert advice seemed to be criminal.

..more..

-Michael goes on to discuss another part of the memo that is arguably more important: U.S. aircraft patrolling the southern no-fly zone were dropping a lot more bombs in the hope of provoking a reaction, an average of 10 tons of bombs a month were dropped between May and August.

[evermind]

1. Thanks. The last three paras are very telling

And I think this is a good way to frame the discussion - intel fixing is a massively complex affair, but cynical manipulation of the UN inspection process, and starting the war ahead of time are pretty clear-cut and simple, imho.

In other words, Bush and Blair began their war not in March 2003, as everyone believed, but at the end of August 2002, six weeks before Congress approved military action against Iraq.

The way in which the intelligence was "fixed" to justify war is old news.

The real news is the shady April 2002 deal to go to war, the cynical use of the U.N. to provide an excuse, and the secret, illegal air war without the backing of Congress.

[G_j]

4. also here is a good article

discussing the DSMs and 'probable cause'

Why The Memo Matters
Mark Danner
June 20, 2005


Mark Danner, a longtime New Yorker staff writer and frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books, is professor of journalism at the University of California at Berkeley and Henry R. Luce Professor at Bard College. His most recent book is Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror, which collects his pieces on torture and Iraq that first appeared in the New York Review of Books. His work can be found at markdanner.com. This article was originally published on TomDispatch.com and will appear in the July 14th edition of the New York Review of Books , on newsstands June 20th.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050620/why_the_memo_matters.php

[Gabi Hayes]

2. so how come he isn't in a brit gaol?

don't they have more restrictive Official Secrets laws? amazing how this seems to be slipping off the radar screen....not

let's hope it doesn't die, like EVERY SINGLE other outrage has so far

and thanks for the Sibel site reminder; haven't been there for awhile

[BlueEyedSon]

3. Kick !!!

[Spazito]

5. Michael Smith is right on point!

The focus needs to shift on the illegal and criminal actions taken of bombing of Iraq well before the illegal invasion and occupation even began and the contemptible attempt to misuse the UN as a cover for their illegal plans.

[G_j]

6. I agree

& this also offers excellent talking points that most should be able to grasp.

[Karenina]

7. Connecting the dots...

:kick:

[G_j]

9. ==

[G_j]

8. kICk

[truebrit71]

10. Kick. Drip, drip, drip

...

[G_j]

11. kick

[LightningFlash]

12. Bombs away.....

The minutes on dropping the bombs continually against UN guidelines are telling....